Published: September 25, 2009 05:06 pm      

UPDATED: Fatal accident near Troy

Burleson man, two others killed in 6-car wreck

A Burleson man and two others were killed Wednesday morning when a National Guard, armored Humvee crossed a highway barrier and caused a six-vehicle collision.

At about 10:19 a.m., the Humvee was traveling southbound on Interstate 35W when the female driver lost control and vaulted over the center barrier near the 310 mile marker within the city of Troy, said Sgt. David Lowry of the Troy police department who supervised the accident investigation.

When the Humvee entered the oncoming northbound lane, it struck a black Toyota Corolla, killing driver Douglas Ashcroft, 44, of Austin. The Humvee then collided with the cab of an 18-wheeler, killing a 41-year-old Burleson man, Donald Johnson.

The 18-wheeler then hit an unoccupied truck with an SUV on a flatbed trailer that was parked on the shoulder. A garbage truck struck the trailer of the 18-wheeler, but the driver reported no injuries.

Texas National Guard spokesman, Lt. Adam Musil, confirmed the Humvee’s driver as Alpha Gibson, 21, who was killed in the accident as well.

He said she was traveling from Temple back to Waxahachie where she was stationed with the 36th Sustainment Brigade.

Gibson entered basic training in 2005 before moving on to advanced individual training and airborne school. She became a multichannel transmission systems operator, Musil said.

An investigation is under way by the Texas National Guard.

Lowry said he was off duty at the time he witnessed the accident from his vehicle from about a quarter mile away but didn’t know how bad it was until he pulled up.

“It was a pretty significant amount of damage,” he said.

Two others were treated for injuries at the scene, and the wreck caused the northbound lanes to be shut down for almost three hours, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange.

Services for Johnson will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the First Baptist Church in Burleson located at 317 W. Ellison St. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. before services.