‘It’s just unbelievable’: 10 people have died in Fort Worth wrong-way crashes this year
A family is looking for answers they don’t think they’ll find in the aftermath of a wrong-way crash that killed five people on a Fort Worth highway in the early morning hours of Oct. 27.
“We would give anything to know what happened,” Laurel Summerfield said.
Summerfield’s 33-year-old daughter, Chelsea Cook, died when the pickup she and her fiancé were riding in was struck by a Ford Focus traveling east in the westbound lanes of Northwest Loop 820. The Ford caught fire, and a family of four — including two children — were trapped and died inside.
The accident was the sixth fatal wrong-way crash on Fort Worth roads so far this year, according to statistics compiled by the Fort Worth Police Department. A total of 10 people, including a Fort Worth police sergeant, have died as a result.
Statistics show that the number of fatal wrong-way crashes in Fort Worth have doubled and the number of deaths nearly tripled compared with the same time last year. From Jan. 1-Nov. 6, 2023, a total of three wrong-way crashes claimed the lives of four people.
Wrong-way crashes comprise less than 1% of all crashes statewide, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Though relatively few in number, they are extremely dangerous due to the fact that they result in head-on collisions.
According to Sgt. Frank Brown, supervisor of the Fort Worth Police Department’s Traffic Investigations Unit, confusion from not knowing an area sometimes factors into wrong-way crashes, but the most common cause is alcohol.
“It’s just very hard (sober) to go the wrong way on the freeway,” Brown told the Star-Telegram.
Two of the three fatal wrong-way crashes in 2023 were confirmed to be alcohol-related, Brown said. Alcohol also factored into three of the six fatal wrong-way crashes reported in 2024.
The wrong-way driver accused of fatally striking Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph on Interstate 35W in August had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.12 at the time of the crash, according to the report completed by investigators. The legal limit in Texas is .08.
The cause of the Oct. 27 accident that killed Cook and the family of four is still under investigation, Brown said.
“We’re all just kind of shocked by it,” Brown said. “I’ve heard so many theories.”
Two occupants of the Ford Focus have been identified as 29-year-old Johanna Newsome and her husband, 28-year-old Daniel Newsome. Johanna Newsome’s two sons — 9-year-old Luis Jared Magallanes Araguz and 12-year-old Jorge Jacob Rivera Araguz — were also in the car. The family’s cause and manner of death is still pending on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s website.
Daniel Newsome’s mother, Myrtle Newsome, told KXAS-TV that the family may have been returning from a trip to Austin when the crash took place.
Daniel Newsome and Johanna Newsome had just gotten married last year, KXAS reported. Myrtle Newsome said her son was so excited to finally have a family.
“I just don’t know why. Somebody could be so happy one minute and then gone the next,” Myrtle Newsome told KXAS.
Brown said investigators determined that the Newsomes’ vehicle was originally headed the right direction. At some point the family exited the freeway, and then for an unknown reason entered the freeway again on the exit ramp and headed east in the westbound lanes.
A toxicology test to determine if alcohol was involved may not be possible because of the damage caused by the fire, Brown said. Investigators also haven’t confirmed how fast the Ford Focus was traveling before the fatal crash.
Cook’s family has been trying to understand what happened, Summerfield said. Detectives confirmed that Cook was wearing a seat belt when the accident took place. She and her fiancé, Evan Ranallo, were returning home after a performance by Ranallo’s band — something they did every weekend.
“They were doing everything right that night,” Summerfield said.
Right now the family is focused on supporting Ranallo, the only survivor of the crash. He’s still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, according to Summerfield.
They are also drawing comfort from the many people who’ve reached out to say how Cook impacted their lives.
“She was just there for so many people,” Summerfield said. “We didn’t even know how extreme it was until this happened.”
Preventative measures
The Texas Department of Transportation has made a number of changes to roadways over the years in an effort to prevent wrong-way drivers.
In 2017, wrong-way driver detection systems were installed on Interstate 30 as part of a pilot program, TxDOT officials said. Other countermeasures have been installed on Texas 360, West Loop 820, parts of Interstate 20 in the Benbrook area and the Texas 114/Texas 26 interchange.
Some of the measures that have been implemented so far include reflective pavement arrows, signs with reflective tape, LED Wrong Way flashing signs and lowered Do Not Enter signs.
Future wrong-way driver prevention projects are planned for additional portions of I-30, Texas 360 and segments of U.S. 287, officials said.
The countermeasures have been effective about 90% of the time in the Fort Worth area, meaning that 90% of wrong-way drivers realized what they were doing and self-corrected before entering the highway, officials said.
Spike strip devices are frequently suggested as a way to keep drivers from entering a highway while going the wrong way, but testing has shown that would cause more problems than it would solve, according to a TxDOT analysis. Spike strips are effective in areas like parking lots and toll booths where speeds are low. In high-speed locations, the spikes broke when tested and the stubs damaged the tires of vehicles going the right direction.
TxDOT is currently proposing changes to Northwest Loop 820, the highway where Cook and the Newsome family lost their lives. According to TxDOT officials, Northwest Loop 820 has “a higher historical crash rate compared to the statewide average on urban interstates.”
The proposed changes, which include new lanes and reconstruction of interchanges, are intended to make the road safer and reduce congestion. According to officials, the highway is inadequate for current and future traffic volumes.
Construction won’t begin until 2030 at the earliest, officials said.
End the streak
The last day without a death on Texas roads occurred 24 years ago on Nov. 7, 2000. Summerfield first heard that heartbreaking statistic after her daughter’s fatal accident.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Summerfield told the Star-Telegram. “It’s just too many people.”
Summerfield said her daughter’s death has motivated her to get involved in something that will reduce fatal crashes. She’s still trying to sort out what that might be, but she said she wants to make a difference.
TxDOT recently launched the End the Streak campaign to make residents aware of the long streak of traffic fatalities and encourage drivers to do their part.
Brown, the Traffic Investigations Unit supervisor, said he always gives people two safety tips: wear a seat belt and don’t speed.
Studies have shown that drivers who speed only get to their location a minute or two earlier than they would have had they been driving the limit, Brown told the Star-Telegram. It’s just not worth it.
“They put everybody’s life at risk,” he said.
The Traffic Investigations Unit has added some additional technology to document accident scenes. Brown said they hope to successfully prosecute more drivers responsible for fatal crashes as a result of that evidence.
This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 10:47 AM.
