A semi-truck crossed the median on I-35 north of Ardmore, Oklahoma, on Sunday and rolled over into oncoming traffic, narrowly missing a Texas family driving home after a weekend trip. The family's dash camera captured the encounter, showing the trailer whip across the highway just as their vehicle passed.
Ed DeHoyos and his family were driving home on I-35 when the crash unfolded in front of them, according to KFOR. DeHoyos and his family had traveled to Oklahoma so his daughter could attend an OU cheer clinic, and they were roughly an hour into their drive home, just north of Ardmore, when the semi-truck crossed into their lanes. A pickup truck driving ahead of DeHoyos swerved to avoid the oncoming semi-trailer but was still clipped by it, the station reports.
DeHoyos said he was watching for deer along the roadside rather than oncoming traffic when he looked up and saw the semi-truck crossing the median, per the same account. He said the trailer narrowly missed his vehicle as it whipped across the highway. Afterward, DeHoyos said he and his family prayed in thanks for their own safety and for the safety of the other families caught up in the crash.
What Caused the Crash Remains Unclear
The cause of the crash and the condition of the truck's driver remained unknown as of KFOR's report, pending a response from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Troopers have not yet released findings on what led the semi to cross into oncoming lanes.
Official collision reports from Oklahoma law enforcement are generally kept confidential for 60 days after an incident but must be released as soon as practicable to news outlets and involved parties, under Oklahoma Statute Title 47 Section 40.102. Separately, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety processes requests for Oklahoma Highway Patrol dash camera and body-worn camera footage through its Dash Cam Unit under the state's Open Records Act, according to the department's published procedures.
A Dangerous Stretch of Highway for Cross-Median Crashes
The stretch of I-35 running through Carter County past Ardmore carries some of the heaviest commercial freight traffic in the state, as the corridor connecting Mexico and Canada, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The agency approved speed-limit increases on rural sections of I-35 and I-40 on August 3, 2020, but the new limits would not take effect until signs were posted, as reported by Public Radio Tulsa.
Cross-median crashes involving heavy trucks carry particular risk because the cable barriers Oklahoma has installed along its highways are not engineered to reliably contain commercial vehicles that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, per federal and state highway guidelines. Oklahoma has installed cable median barriers along its highways, a build-out that state officials say helped cut statewide cross-median fatalities from 37 in 2004 down to nine in 2017, according to Oklahoma.gov. But those barriers are designed primarily to redirect passenger cars, not stop fully loaded semis.
Oklahoma recorded 4,784 large truck crashes in 2020 alone, resulting in 1,563 injuries and 75 fatalities statewide, according to crash data cited by Barnard Law.
Part of a Troubling Pattern on I-35
Sunday's close call adds to a string of serious semi-truck incidents along I-35 in Oklahoma over the past year. In October, a semi crash near Olathe killed the truck's driver and spilled cooking oil across the highway. A tractor-trailer rollover and fire near Purcell led inspectors to check bridge integrity, and in November 2025 another rollover near Purcell spilled gravel and snarled the morning commute.
The DeHoyos family's dash cam video is a stark reminder of how quickly a routine drive on a high-speed interstate corridor can turn dangerous when a loaded semi loses control.
