Big Rig Driver Killed in Crash with a Cow

CISCO, TX – A truck driver was killed early Monday morning following a crash with a cow in Eastland County.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, on Sep. 25, 2023, at around 3:20 a.m., DPS troopers were dispatched to US Highway 183 and CR 156, three miles north of Cisco, for the report of a rollover crash.

Once on the scene, the troopers discovered a 2000 Freightliner Conventional XL truck tractor, towing a 2013 Fontaine flatbed semi-trailer, that had rolled over. The driver, Alberto Salazar, 43, of Breckenridge, was found dead on the scene and was pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace Jesse Speer.

The troopers' investigation revealed that the truck was traveling south on US Highway 183. Salazar failed to see a black cow standing in the roadway and struck the animal. Salazar lost control of the truck as it traveled east and overturned. Salazar was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The posted speed limit at this location is 75 mph. At the time of the crash, the weather was clear, and the road was dry.