Four people were killed Thursday morning in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 181 near Hobson Road in Karnes County, shutting down a rural stretch of road about an hour southeast of San Antonio and leaving multiple families reeling.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened around 8 a.m. when a northbound 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee lost control, crossed into the southbound lane and slammed into a 2015 black Chevrolet Tahoe. DPS said April Marie Green, 40, of Poth, the Tahoe's sole occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene; the Jeep’s driver, Fernando Espinoza, 23, and passenger Eleora Marie Espinoza, 18, were also pronounced dead at the scene, and rear passenger Abigail Lynn Espinoza, 25, was taken to a San Antonio hospital where she later died, as reported by KSAT.
The three people in the Jeep were members of the same San Antonio family, and relatives told the San Antonio Express-News they had been returning from a Port Aransas trip. Their father told the paper, "The things they couldn’t tell mom and dad, they could tell each other," describing a tight-knit group whose loss now stretches from the beach highway back into their neighborhood. A GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses had raised tens of thousands of dollars by Saturday, according to the same outlet.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said the crash remains under investigation and has not released a suspected cause. Troopers are continuing to process the scene, and investigators will compile an official report, according to KSAT.
Where officials look for answers
State authorities log crash reports in the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Records Information System and use data dashboards to spot patterns and focus safety projects on rural highways like U.S. 181, according to TxDOT. Local outlets have recently reported other serious wrecks in Karnes County; for example, a hydroplaning wreck on SH-123 earlier in June left one person dead.
Family members and friends have launched fundraising efforts to cover expenses, and local officials have not yet released additional details. This story will be updated as troopers or county authorities provide more information.
