Second by second: How Fort Worth I-35 pileup that killed 4, seriously injured 2 unfolded
The Sept. 11 crash that killed four people and sent two others to the hospital with serious injuries on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth took 10 seconds, from the first impact to the moment the 18-wheeler that hit the six victims and their vehicles came to a stop.
Texas Department of Transportation crash reports and video reviewed by the Star-Telegram show how the impact played out, and at least three families have filed lawsuits against Ben E. Keith, the company employing the driver of the 18-wheeler at the time of the crash.
The video was provided to the Star-Telegram with permission to describe its contents, but not to publish it.
No charges have been announced against the truck driver. Police Wednesday told the Star-Telegram the crash was still under investigation.
Ryan Zehl’s law firm, Zehl and Associates, is representing the family of Susana Longoria, one of the victims. He told the Star-Telegram Wednesday he believes the 18-wheeler driver was fatigued, distracted or both.
The first crash
The crash report from the TxDOT says Longoria, 31, was heading northbound on I-35W in the second leftmost lane, driving a 2015 Chrysler 200. At the same time, Chase Mapes, 25, and Charles Huggans, 51, were in the leftmost lane, in a Ford F350.
At some point, Longoria tried to merge into the leftmost lane and hit the F350 driven by Mapes, the report says. Her car went across the leftmost lane and onto the left shoulder, hit the concrete divider that separates northbound and southbound traffic, spun twice and came to a stop.
Her vehicle was mostly on the left shoulder and partially in the leftmost lane, according to the report. Video of the crash shows Mapes and Huggans stop briefly before slowly pulling up and parking the truck behind Longoria’s car.
The surveillance video shows that nearly two minutes pass before the next crash occurs.
During this time, 27-year-old Derrick Wood, 21-year-old Jasmine Jones and 23-year-old Kiara Barker stopped behind the two crashed vehicles. Wood got out of his car to try to help. Jones and Barker stopped behind him and did the same. A semi-truck, without a trailer, also stopped in front of Longoria’s vehicle. The crash report does not list the driver’s name.
For about a minute and half, vehicles on the highway slowed and moved farther right to avoid the crash.
Then an 18-wheeler plowed into the group of people and vehicles. The TxDOT report outlines the sequence of events. The video shows how it happened.
10 seconds
The crash that killed Longoria, Mapes, Barker and Jones lasted 10 seconds from the first impact to the moment the 18-wheeler stopped.
In the first second of the deadly crash, video shows the Ben E. Keith 18-wheeler, driven by 60-year-old Larry R. Czaplinski, hit Wood’s car.
Czaplinski was driving in the left lane despite signs in the area indicating 18-wheelers were prohibited from being in the left lane except when passing. Zehl said the data from a black box recorder in the truck indicated Czaplinski’s foot was “on the accelerator 100%,” with a speed of 68 mph to 70 mph.
The report says the impact sent Wood’s car into the concrete barrier before it was pushed into Jones’ car, which Czaplinski’s truck hit with a tire.
The video shows sparks fly as Czaplinski’s truck hits the concrete barrier and scrapes along as it continues forward. A diagram in the crash report shows that this is when he hit Longoria, Wood, Jones, Mapes, Barker and Huggans. Only Wood and Huggans would survive, though with serious injuries.
A full second after the initial impact, Czaplinski hits Mapes’ F350. The 18-wheeler is still scraping the side of the concrete barrier, showering sparks as it goes.
The third second, Czaplinski’s truck hits Longoria’s Chrysler 200. Sparks continues to fly out from the trailer scraping the concrete barrier. One car appears to rise up in front of the truck. The semi begins swerving out of the shoulder.
The fourth second, Czaplinski’s 18-wheeler stops scraping the barrier and slams into the semi-truck that stopped in front of the original crash.
The fifth second, Czaplinski’s vehicle continues forward, pushing the semi-truck further down the road. He visibly, significantly slows for the first time.
For five more seconds, Czaplinski’s 18-wheeler pushes the semi truck forward and slows to a stop.
The video shows a light cloud of smoke emanating from the pileup. Hazard lights were flashing. Traffic was backing up. Cars in the southbound HOV lane were slowing and stopping. Over the next several minutes, northbound drivers slow down and give the crash a wide berth. Some people get out of their cars and approach. A few, it appears, get up on the concrete barrier and walk up to the aftermath with phones in their hands.
Lawsuits
Zehl, the attorney representing Longoria’s family, said he has represented around 1,000 people injured in crashes involving big trucks. None were like this.
“This is the most horrific commercial motor vehicle crash I’ve ever been involved in,” he told the Star-Telegram. “You had innocent bystanders who were just stopping to assist and ended up losing their lives.”
Tarrant County court records show Czaplinski and his employer, Ben E. Keith — a Fort Worth-based company that distributes food and beverages — are facing lawsuits from Wood, who survived the crash, and Jones’ family, in addition to the lawsuit filed by Longoria’s family.
All of them said in their lawsuits that Czaplinski is responsible for causing the injuries and deaths and that Ben E. Keith was negligent in employing him.
Attorneys with Fee, Smith and Sharp, the law firm representing both Czaplinski and Ben E. Keith, declined to comment. In official responses filed in court, the attorneys denied all accusations but did not elaborate.
Zehl told the Star-Telegram that Czaplinski’s driving record includes multiple crashes and six speeding tickets, factors he said Ben E. Keith would be legally required to know. Continuing to employ a driver with that record is negligent on the company’s part, he said.
Zehl added that cell phone data shows that Czaplinski, who was starting the first day of a night shift after a weekend off, which changed his sleeping schedule. That, he said, could have left Czaplinski fatigued.
The other lawsuits propose the same thing: That Czaplinski was fatigued, distracted or both.
The three lawsuits also agree on several other details. All include a photo of a sign, about 1.25 miles from the crash, prohibiting trucks in the left lane. And all the vehicles stopped had their hazard lights on.
They lawsuits all allege that Czaplinski caused the crash that killed four and seriously injured two and that Ben E. Keith, with access to Czaplinski’s driving record, was negligent by employing him as a driver.
The lawsuit filed by Longoria’s family is seeking $50 million in damages. Wood’s lawsuit says he is seeking “tens of millions,” but does not specify an amount. The lawsuit filed by Jones’ family also does not specify an exact amount, but says it is calling for “tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars.”
