A 37-year-old woman from Mabank was killed and four other people, including two children, were injured Sunday afternoon when an SUV overturned on U.S. 77 just north of Driscoll. The crash was reported around 1:46 p.m. and left the vehicle resting upside down in water after it crossed the median.
According to Yahoo News, the SUV crossed the median and both lanes of the highway before rolling and coming to rest inverted in water alongside the roadway. One of the backseat passengers was thrown from the vehicle during the rollover, the outlet reported. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times identified the woman who died as Felicia Prieto, 37, of Mabank.
Texas Department of Public Safety Staff Sergeant Rob Mallory said Prieto was pronounced dead at the scene by the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Prieto was identified as a passenger in the SUV.
Conflicting Details on the Driver's Identity
Accounts of who was behind the wheel differ. The same report states that the driver was a 40-year-old woman from Canton who reportedly fell asleep while driving north on U.S. 77, but it elsewhere describes the driver as a 35-year-old woman taken to a Corpus Christi hospital alongside a 16-year-old girl. The discrepancy in the driver's age and hometown has not been resolved in available reporting.
That 16-year-old girl and the 35-year-old woman identified as the driver were both taken to CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Shoreline for treatment, the report states. A 12-year-old boy was transported separately to Driscoll Children's Hospital. The report did not detail the conditions of those injured.
Investigation Continues Under DPS Troopers
The crash remains under investigation by DPS troopers with the Corpus Christi Highway Patrol Office, per the same account. The driver reportedly fell asleep while driving.
The Driscoll crash comes amid other recent rollovers on the same highway corridor. A separate single-vehicle rollover on U.S. 77 near State Highway 89, northwest of Sinton, left a 74-year-old woman dead and three others injured, according to KRIS TV. That crash involved a southbound 2021 Honda Accord that left the roadway, struck a highway sign, went over an embankment, and rolled multiple times before coming to rest on the shoulder of State Highway 89. The woman who died in that crash, Hilda Montes de Magallan of Corpus Christi, was severely injured and later died from her injuries, the station reported.
