A late-night drive on a busy South Fort Worth shopping corridor ended in tragedy Thursday when a vehicle slammed into a tree on South Hulen Street, killing the driver at the scene. The single-vehicle crash happened around 9:40 p.m. near the 7300 block of South Hulen, a stretch lined with stores and parking lots that stays active well into the evening. First responders arrived to find the vehicle heavily damaged and the driver unresponsive. Medics pronounced the person dead on-site, and police shut down lanes in front of nearby businesses as the investigation got underway.
Officers were called to 7320 S. Hulen St. after reports that a car had struck a tree, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office told the paper it will publicly identify the victim once the next of kin have been notified. Fort Worth police said the department's Traffic Investigation Unit is leading the probe and working to determine what led up to the deadly impact.
Where it happened
The wreck occurred near 7320 S. Hulen St., an address listed as a Family Dollar in online business directories. Location.com places the store on that commercial strip, a cut-through for shoppers and residents in nearby neighborhoods.
That corridor has already drawn scrutiny. Previous reporting from CBSDFW has described portions of South Hulen as crash-prone and noted that some safety upgrades promised in 2018 were never fully rolled out.
Investigation under way
Detectives in Fort Worth police's Traffic Investigation Unit are reviewing physical evidence from the scene and examining the vehicle as they work to reconstruct the crash, the Star-Telegram reports. The medical examiner's office will release the victim's name after family notifications are complete.
As of now, police have not announced any charges or citations and have asked anyone who witnessed the collision or has information about it to contact authorities.
Local safety context
Residents and reporters have been sounding alarms about safety on parts of Hulen for years. In earlier incidents, neighbors pushed for more physical protections along the roadway, including guardrails and better signage, according to prior coverage by CBSDFW. City traffic officials told reporters that some improvements were planned but that underground utilities and other constraints limited what could actually be installed.
Thursday night's fatal wreck now drops into the middle of that long-running conversation over how to control speeds and protect pedestrians, drivers, and nearby property along this busy Fort Worth corridor.
