Three killed in collision with wild hog in Texas

[Wedgy]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/2...lled-in-collision-with-wild-hog-in-texas.html

Three people, including an off-duty Border Patrol agent, were killed and two others were injured after an SUV collided with a wild hog Christmas night in Texas.



Texas Department of Public Safety Spokesman Sgt. Conrad Hein said Tuesday that a preliminary investigation indicated that a Ford Expedition collided with the hog, causing the vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a Mercedes SUV head-on on a rural road near Uvalde.

The two vehicles caught fire, according to the Uvalde Leader-News.

The Expedition's driver, 51-year-old Ruby Garza, and the driver of the Mercedes, 27-year-old Antonio Cordova, the off-duty agent, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Garza had been traveling with three people: Julia Vazquez, 51, Mayra Vasquez and Naomi Acuna, according to the Leader-News. Julia Vazquez died at a hospital. The conditions of Mayra Vazquez and Acuna were not immediately known.

 

[dok7mm]

Terrible! I have had many close calls with wildlife at night, but I think hogs do the most damage to vehicles, due to bulk and lower profile.

 

[WildRose]

Sad, but not surprising. Hitting a hog is like hitting a boulder.

A few years back a national freight hauler had five trucks totaled in hog collisions in as many weeks just west of here. They were forced by their insurance carrier to route the trucks more than a hundred miles out of the way to avoid them or lose their coverage.

The worst thing about hogs is that often they are the same color or nearly the same as the pavement and you're already on top of them before you even realize they are there.

If you're in hog country driving at night, slow down, slow down some more and run some extra lights if you can and make sure they are mounted on a stout cow catcher.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I was driving to Pipe Creek for a Halloween event for my 2 year old when we passed a dead hog on the side of the road. It was the largest wild hod I'd ever seen and was probably over 400 pounds. Felt sorry for whatever hit it.

 

[LoneTraveler]

As a wildlife Officer for 34 1/2 years and my travels to Canada and Alaska I have seen and worked a lot of road kill incidents,
The bad thing with a hog would be, With short legs, Center of gravity close to ground, The hog would go down, The front of the vehicle would go up over the hog, The driver would lose control and then things would go, OH S!!!
The bad thing with a big truck or tractor trailer is, If a low heavy animal like a hog or bear even a deer hits the end of the front bumper, It folds in, Cuts and blows the tire. The driver loses control of the truck and its load ends up in the opposite lane or out of the road, Headed for parts unknow.
I was on a road kill one night. New Mack Tandem Axle Dump Truck. The owner/driver picked it up at the dealer and was coming home. Less than 100 miles. Hit deer, Bent Bumper, Cut Tire. Truck went into ditch with a rock hillside. The Truck left the scene hanging on the back of a wrecker.