Special to The Leader

On July 9, 2016, at approximately 8:00p.m., the Texas Department of Public Safety received a report of an auto-pedestrian crash on Cajun Way near Strong Road in Orange County.

A 2000 Ford pickup truck was traveling westbound on Cajun Way.  Two pedestrians were walking east on Cajun Way.  The two pedestrians were struck by the vehicles’ passenger-side door mirror.  According to the driver of the Ford, her vision was obscured by the sun and did not see the pedestrians.  When she noticed the two girls, she tried to swerve to the left to avoid striking them, but the door mirror struck both girls.

18-year-old Samantha Bethal of Orange was transported by ambulance to St. Elizabeth hospital with non life threatening injuries.  The second pedestrian, a 14-year-old girl from Orange, was transported by medical helicopter to UTMB in Galveston with serious injuries.

The driver of the Ford, 17-year-old Sarah Jean Lafleur of Orange, was not injured.

This is an ongoing crash investigation and Troopers are working to determine the exact factors that contributed to this crash.

 

Edited to correct the age of the driver. Originally, it was reported the driver was 19 years old.