A major accident between a semi truck and a pedestrian occurred early Thursday morning on N Hwy 183 in Brownwood leaving one dead according to Brownwood Police Department.
According to Brownwood Police, officers responded to an accident involving a semi truck and a pedestrian at 12:21am. Early Police Department and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper also responded to assist and help control traffic. Officers arrived on scene to find Guardian EMS medics working on an unresponsive male on the shoulder of the highway the report states.
Officers spoke with the driver of the semi truck, who was obviously shaken but physically uninjured. According to the report, the 55-year-old male driver, gave an account of the events leading up to the accident.
According to the report, the truck driver was headed into Brownwood southbound in the outside lane of 183N at a speed of approximately 50mph when he noticed a subject “come out of nowhere and crouch in the road”. The driver told officers he had swerved into the inside lane in an effort to miss the person; however when the pedestrian stood up, the truck struck him the report states.
The driver explained that he immediately pulled off the road and ran back to the victim, later identified as 53-year-old Martin Francis Augherton of Brownwood, who was lying unresponsive in the roadway the report indicates. According to police, the driver noticed a brown dog lying in the road, which may have been struck by a vehicle prior to this accident; that possibly Augherton was attempting to save, which explained what he believed could have been the reason Augherton was crouching in the road. It was unknown at the time of the report if the dog belonged to Augherton.
The driver further stated that he called 911 informing dispatchers of the accident and that he was going to drag Augherton off of the roadway and onto the shoulder to keep other passing cars from striking the injured man and himself according to police reports.
EMS confirmed to police that Augherton showed no signs of life when they began working on him the report states. Augherton was pronounced dead at the scene due to “massive physical trauma caused by the crash” according to police.
BPD reported that newly purchased items from EZ- Mart were near where Augherton was struck, indicating that he was possibly walking from the convenience store to his home in the Wallace Trailer Park which was very near to the accident site.
According to the report, although Justice of the Peace Brian Thompson (who was also on scene) did not order an autopsy and did not feel that a blood draw from the driver was necessary; however, the truck driver voluntarily agreed to have his blood drawn at Brownwood Regional Medical Center. The sample will be sent to the DPS crime lab the report states.
According to the responding officer, Thompson and Assistant Chief James Fuller, it was believed that the driver was not intoxicated.
“We are not expecting anything,” said Fuller of the blood sample. “There were absolutely no indications of any type of driver impairments.”
The driver was understandably very upset and the semi truck was later driven from the scene by another licensed driver according to BPD officials.
BPD reports that the first of kin has been notified of Augherton’s death and funeral arrangements are pending through Davis-Morris Funeral Home.
