Joel Garza Jr Obituary, Death: One dead, another injured in Upton County crash.
Joel Garza Jr Obituary, Death – A fatal crash in Upton County on Tuesday afternoon, November 27, claimed the life of one man and left another with minor injuries. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) responded to the accident, which occurred at approximately 1:23 p.m. on State Highway 349 near mile marker 376.
Preliminary findings indicate that 28-year-old Joel Garza Jr., from Edinburg, Texas, was driving a Nissan Altima northbound on the wrong side of the roadway. Garza initially traveled in the outside southbound lane before veering into the inside southbound lane, where his vehicle collided with a Western Star semi-truck towing a trailer.
Garza sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi-truck, identified as 60-year-old Ruben Villegas-Rodriguez of Crane, Texas, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Rankin Hospital for treatment.
Both drivers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, according to the DPS report.
The accident remains under investigation, and officials have not released further details. DPS spokesperson Sergeant Steven Blanco emphasized that the circumstances surrounding the crash are still being examined.
