Carmen Ruiz,Diana Lopez Obituary, Death; – The Department of Public Safety has confirmed the identity of the woman who lost her life in a head-on collision on Highway 57 on Wednesday morning.
According to DPS, Carmen Ruiz, aged 50, was traveling on Highway 57 approximately five miles east of Batesville at mile marker 426 in Zavala County around 5:30 a.m. For reasons yet to be determined, Ruiz veered into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with a Peterbilt truck tractor semi-trailer. Tragically, Ruiz succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
The incident led to the closure of Highway 57 for several hours, necessitating the use of alternate routes for motorists throughout the morning. This crash marked the second fatal incident on Highway 57 within the same week.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the Uvalde County Constable’s Precinct 6 Office reported that five individuals lost their lives in a significant vehicle accident attributed to icy road conditions.
DPS indicated that a Ford F-150 pickup truck had come to a stop on the Nueces River Bridge due to a prior accident involving two Ford vans. Multiple passengers from the vans attempted to alert the driver of a Freightliner tractor-truck to the hazardous icy conditions on the bridge. Unfortunately, the Freightliner driver collided with all three vehicles.
Three occupants of one of the Ford vans—identified as 63-year-old Pedro Urquiza, 60-year-old Estanislao Jaimes, and 43-year-old Diana Lopez—were pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by DPS. Additionally, the driver of the Ford pickup truck, 48-year-old Jose Artemio Rodriguez, was found deceased at the bottom of the bridge.
DPS further stated that the driver of the other Ford van, 60-year-old Maria Pineda, succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash involving the Freightliner truck. Seven other passengers were subsequently transported to a hospital for further medical attention.
