Monday morning collision along Highway 111 leaves one man dead

One man was reported dead and a van possibly carrying donated blood specimens would now likely be unusable after a blood bank vehicle collided with a pickup midmorning Monday, Oct. 14, about two miles west of the U.S. 77 overpass.

That’s according to Sgt. Rueben San Miguel, public information officer for the Victoria Office of the Department of Public Safety, who visited with the newspaper by phone during the lunch hour just hours after the fatal crash took place.

The names of the two people involved were not yet available, San Miguel said, as DPS attempts to locate the deceased next of kin.

The woman driving the blood bank’s van escaped without injury, San Miguel said, though it is unknown if she was carrying any blood specimens at the time of the crash. If there were, those samples would likely become unusable.

According to the preliminary DPS report, the man driving the pickup was attempting to make a left turn onto a private drive off State Highway 111 when the crash occurred. The blood bank van struck the pickup broadside on the driver’s side door, likely killing its driver instantly.

San Miguel said he was out of town in San Antonio when the crash occurred in Lavaca County Monday. By the time he got free to start heading that direction, the officer said he was told that first responders were already clearing the scene.

Yoakum Fire and EMS personnel had been on location for traffic control since the crash was first reported at about 9 a.m. Monday.

An post-mortem exam has been ordered, and DPS continues its accident investigation. San Miguel said he will release additional details as they become available.