Daughter asks for help after her 71-year-old father dies in fiery Texas 18-wheeler crash

Domingo Ramirez Jr.
·2 min read
182

Lorena Colunga of Dallas wanted to do something to help her family.

Her 71-year-old father, Gustavo Gomez, was killed Tuesday afternoon when a car collided with Gomez’s 18-wheeler, which forced the semi-truck to go over a barrier at an overpass on U.S. 75 in Allen, crash onto a service road and burst into flames.

Gomez had been the sole provider for the household.

So Colunga began a GoFundMe account to help her family with the loss of a father who had been a truck driver for 20 years.

“I have started this for my mom and my siblings,” Colunga wrote on the GoFundMe account. “We appreciate all the prayers and thoughts we have received. At this time we ask for assistance while we have time to transition as our world has come crashing down. Thank you to everyone again.”

As of Friday, the family had raised over $2,000, trying to reach a goal of $10,000.

Gustavo Gomez, 71, was killed Tuesday afternoon near Dallas when his 18-wheeler veered off U.S. 75, crashed onto a service road and burst into flames. His wife, Helen Torres, is in the photograph.
Gustavo Gomez, 71, was killed Tuesday afternoon near Dallas when his 18-wheeler veered off U.S. 75, crashed onto a service road and burst into flames. His wife, Helen Torres, is in the photograph.

Allen police said Gomez’s truck collided with a car on the highway and veered over a 32-inch barrier and off an overpass, crashing onto the service road.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash wasn’t hurt, police said.

The fatal wreck occurred just before 3 p.m. Tuesday in the 2000 block of northbound US 75 in Allen.

Dash-camera video from a witness obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram shows the tractor-tractor falling off the overpass and then bursting into flames.

Gomez’s wife, Helen Torres, told WFAA on Wednesday that her husband was delivering mail for the US Postal Service to Missouri.

“He was a very hard worker,” Torres said. “He always has been for his family. Whatever it was, whether it was driving across the country or not, he always made sure we were taken care of and provided for.”

Torres told WFAA that after their marriage, Gomez became a father to the three children she had from another relationship. The couple later had two kids of their own.

Torres said Gomez loved cars and felt that driving trucks professionally was a great fit. She said that you don’t drive trucks for two decades without prioritizing safety, WFAA reported.

Torres told WFAA that she tried to call her husband Tuesday afternoon, but her calls went to voicemail. She believed her husband’s phone had died.

On Wednesday morning, Allen police notified her of her husband’s death.

He was supposed to come home,” Torres said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

Torres said Bancroft and Sons Transportation, the company her husband worked for, has offered to pay for Gomez’s funeral.

Allen police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to call them at 214-509-4288 as the investigation continues. The Texas Department of Transportation also is investigating.