Seven persons injured in two vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 57 in Zavala County

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

A two vehicle head-on accident on U.S. Highway 57 in Zavala County, Texas near Batesville on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, injured seven persons requiring that they be transported for medical treatment to San Antonio and Pearsall, Texas hospitals.

Two persons were flown by helicopter to San Antonio medical hospitals for treatment. All others were transported by ambulance to a Pearsall hospital for medical treatment. No fatalities were reported.

A commercial passenger van, owned by Transportes Aguilar, carrying customers from Eagle Pass to San Antonio and a Ford Mustang automobile were the two vehicles involved in the accident. The commercial passenger van was traveling from Eagle Pass to San Antonio when the accident occurred, while the Ford Mustang was traveling westbound from San Antonio to Eagle Pass.

The commercial passenger van had five passengers and its driver while the Ford Mustang carried only its driver, totaling seven persons injured.

The cause of the accident is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure of the Ford Mustang steering wheel, according to its driver.

The accident occurred within the busy Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas boom region in southwest Texas. Automobile and tractor-trailer accidents have spiked significantly in the Eagle Ford Shale region during the past five years since the commencement of heavy oil and gas drilling activities.

The Zavala County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating the accident.