MARBLE FALLS, Texas — Five people lost their lives Sunday evening after a pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic on U.S. 281 South — and two of them were little girls who never had a chance.
The crash was reported around 5 p.m. in the 3100 block of U.S. 281 South in Marble Falls.
According to police, 80-year-old Antonio Lara of Lago Vista was driving a black Nissan pickup northbound when his vehicle crossed the center line and entered southbound lanes.
What happened next left first responders and bystanders shaken.
The Head-On Impact That Killed Five
Lara’s pickup struck a silver Hyundai hatchback head-on.
Inside that Hyundai were four people: 50-year-old Roxanne Mowrey, 55-year-old Ron Dykes, and two young girls — one just 3 years old, the other only 5.
All four died at the scene.
Lara also did not survive the crash.
Five lives — gone in seconds, on a Sunday evening on a stretch of Texas highway.
A Second Family Was Moments Away From Tragedy
Before the deadly head-on collision, the out-of-control pickup also clipped a white BMW hatchback traveling in the southbound lane.
Inside that car were Lance Benick, 29, Hannah Benick, 27, and their 8-month-old child — a young family from Austin.
The BMW suffered only minor damage.
That family walked away. The family in the Hyundai did not.
Why Did the Driver Cross the Line?
That is the question Marble Falls police are still trying to answer.
Investigators have not yet determined what caused Lara’s pickup to veer out of the northbound lanes and into oncoming traffic.
No information has been released about whether speed, a medical episode, or another factor played a role.
Burnet County sheriff’s deputies assisted at the crash site. Marble Falls police also extended their thanks to first responders and the bystanders who stopped to help in the immediate aftermath.
A Community Left Grieving
Two children. Three adults. An entire community in shock.
Marble Falls is a small city of roughly 7,000 people on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. A crash of this scale — five fatalities in a single incident — hits a town like this hard.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
If you witnessed the crash or have any information that could help investigators, contact the Marble Falls Police Department.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
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