BEAUMONT — Shortly after authorities named the person killed in a Friday morning wreck on Interstate 10, a second fatal wreck on the roadway stalled traffic.
The second wreck was reported by DPS Trooper Stephanie Davis and was said to be in Orange County. It was reported to be a fatal wreck in Vidor near Exit 862.
A Vidor man was killed earlier Friday after a head-on collision in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 on the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge in Beaumont. All lanes of were reported open until the wreck in Orange County once again closed westbound lane traffic.
Billy Wayne Hight, 22 of Vidor, was pronounced dead at the scene of the first wreck.
A person driving a GMC pickup truck eastbound in the westbound lane of Interstate 10 died when the vehicle collided with an oncoming 18-wheeler at approximately 2:15 a.m., Friday (Aug. 31) at the base of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge, also known as the Neches River Bridge.
The Beaumont Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety arrived at the scene to handle the incident, which required the closure of both east and westbound lanes due to a fuel spill involving the big rig. The driver of the 18-wheeler was transported by Acadian Ambulance to a Beaumont-area hospital. He was a 61-year-old Houston resident. He sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital.
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 have reopened, but the westbound lanes were closed pending cleanup and investigation.
Following the collision, the Vidor Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Office provided assistance by diverting motorists traveling west on Interstate 10 onto FM 105 in Vidor. All eastbound traffic on Interstate 10 was diverted off at MLK to head south towards Port Arthur.
A wreck was also reported on Texas Avenue across from the U.S. Post Office in Bridge City at approximately 9:15 a.m., Friday. More details will be available soon.
Davis also reported a stalled vehicle was in the outside lane of the westbound lane of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.
