Fort Worth woman killed when speeding SUV crashes
FORT WORTH -- A 33-year-old woman driving a 2010 Toyota Highlander, which witnesses said swerved from one side of North Tarrant Parkway to the other at high speed, was killed Thursday morning when the SUV crashed and rolled several times.
Two children, ages 1 and 3, were "properly restrained" in car seats and taken in good condition to Cook Children's Medical Center, said Sgt. Pedro Criado, a police spokesman.
The driver, identified as Dawna Casey of Fort Worth, was pronounced dead at 8:01 a.m. in the 3300 block of North Tarrant Parkway, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.
Criado said witnesses reported that the eastbound SUV was traveling at a "high rate of speed" while passing other vehicles. The Highlander "swerved to the left, traveling in the center median, passing vehicles and then swerved back to the right onto the main roadway," he said.
The SUV "swerved to the right and traveled through the bar ditch, striking a concrete culvert," Criado said, then "went airborne."
When it landed, it rolled, stopping in a field.
A witness, Cheryl Givens of Fort Worth, said that the SUV had tried to pass her on the left but that another vehicle was there, so the SUV "drove fast on the grass median for a bit."
Givens said the SUV rolled "many times."
Casey was pinned in the wreckage, but people stopped "to try and help hold the vehicle up," Givens said.
The wreck occurred just west of Old Denton Road near the Monterra Village apartment complex. Kellie Mayhew, a complex manager, said she saw emergency crews pull the children from the wreckage.
"They weren't crying and seemed to be OK," Mayhew said. "They seemed to be in shock."
The Highlander was so badly damaged that it was difficult to tell what type of vehicle it was. Officers at the scene said it was a 2010 model. Some of those Highlanders are affected by recalls involving gas pedals and floor mats, according to the Toyota website.
"I'm so thankful the kids were in their car seats and restrained properly and that so many good people came to help," Givens said.
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