Joel Garza Jr. Obituary, Death: Wrong-Way Crash in Upton County Kills One, Injures Another
Joel Garza Jr. Obituary, Death – A fatal crash in Upton County on Tuesday afternoon resulted in the death of one man and left another injured. The incident occurred on November 27 around 1:23 p.m. on State Highway 349, near mile marker 376, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
DPS troopers responded to the scene and their investigation revealed that 28-year-old Joel Garza Jr. from Edinburg, Texas, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of State Highway 349. Garza was traveling in the wrong direction, occupying the outside lane meant for southbound traffic.
As Garza continued driving the wrong way, he veered from the outside lane into the inside lane, still headed northbound. In doing so, he crashed head-on into 60-year-old Ruben Villegas-Rodriguez, who was driving a Western Star truck with a trailer.
Garza was pronounced dead at the scene by Highway Patrol officers. Villegas-Rodriguez, the truck driver, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Rankin Hospital for treatment.
The incident remains under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, and authorities have not released further details at this time.
