Four People Pronounced Dead After Crash in Callahan County

Four people were killed in a two-vehicle crash on US 283 and TX 36, about 11.8 miles south of Baird in Callahan County Friday morning, said Frederick Biddle, public information officer for the Department of Public Safety.

In a press release, Biddle said at around 12:05 a.m. Friday, the driver of a 2005 Freightliner truck tractor towing a trailer, George Earl Nowlain, 71, was heading westbound on TX 36 while the driver of a 2003 Dodge pickup, Joel Flores Jr., 24, headed southbound on US 283. The pickup failed to yield at a stop intersection and struck the truck tractor broadside.  

As a result, Nowlain, Flores Jr. and two passengers in the pickup were pronounced dead by Judge Taylor, three at the scene and one at Hendrick Medical Center. Nowlain was from Valley Mills, Texas and Flores came from Anaheim, California. Passenger Joel Ortega-Flores, 51, was also from Anaheim, and the second male passenger has yet to be officially identified, Biddle said. All bodies were transported to Abilene Professional Funeral Home.

Biddle added that Nowlain, Flores Jr. and the unidentified passenger failed to use a seatbelt and the speed limit posted in the area was 75 miles per hour. Biddle described the weather conditions as dry and a combination of clear and cloudy. Trooper Michael Haley with DPS in Abilene investigated the scene, and that investigation remains in process.

Update Sept 26 at 8 a.m.

DPS identified the fourth victim killed in the crash as Fernando Ramirez, male, 48, of Anaheim, California.