A Mount Pleasant school district employee and a truck driver died as a result of a multi-vehicle accident that happened late Thursday night in Titus County.
Angelica Beard, 30, an assistant girls track team coach for Mount Pleasant High School, was killed after the sedan she was driving was struck by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, police said. The driver of the truck, whose identity has not been released, has also died, officials said.
The accident happened on U.S. Highway 271, about two miles south of Talco, police said. The 18-wheeeler was traveling north and swerved into oncoming traffic, officials said. A school bus carrying members of the Mount Pleasant High School boys track team swerved to avoid a head-on collision, they said. The 18-wheeler then struck Beard’s car, which had been traveling behind the school bus, police said.
Tyler-based KLTV-TV reported that the driver of the bus is in critical condition following treatment at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. A coach and a student from the bus were airlifted to the same hospital and their status is not known, KLTV said. At least 17 other people from the bus have been taken to hospitals and clinics around the region for treatment, the report said.
A bus carrying most of the Mount Pleasant High School girls track team was traveling a few miles behind the other vehicles and was not involved in the accident, KTLV said. The teams were returning to Mount Pleasant following a track meet in Paris on Thursday evening.
