A 26-year-old Burleson woman and a 70-year-old Alvarado man died Monday in two separate, unrelated car accidents in Burleson.
The woman, Cassie Marie Reeves, was pronounced dead at the scene after she wrecked her vehicle in the 1600 block of Houston Road.
According to the traffic investigator, witnesses said Reeves was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Impala at a high rate of speed when she lost control of the car, crashing into two Ford F-150 pickups and then landing in a ditch.
Burleson firefighters removed Reeves from the Impala. A MedStar ambulance and Care Flite helicopter responded to the crash.
A 26-year-old Arlington man, who was the driver of the first pickup that was struck, was transported by Care Flite to a Fort Worth hospital. He was treated and released. The driver of the second pickup, a 31-year-old male, declined medical treatment at the scene.
The crash is under investigation, according to police reports.
The Alvarado man, Jimmie Louis Ellison, was driving north on I-35W when he exited on to the service road in the 3300 block of Southeast Burleson Boulevard. The Lincoln Town Car he was driving veered off the road into a private drive and struck a Ford F-250 pickup that was stopped for traffic.
A 43-year-old Graham man was inside the pickup when it was struck. He was not injured.
Ellison was suffering from a medical issue and was on 911 with a telecommunications operator when the crash happened. Alvarado police and Alvarado fire departments assisted Burleson at the scene.
CareFlite flew the victim to a Fort Worth hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a Burleson press release.
Reeves’ and Ellison’s deaths are the fourth and fifth traffic-related fatalities this year, according to Burleson Police Department data.
BPD officials said it’s hard to comment on the accidents because they are still under investigation, BPD Commander Cindy Aaron said.
“However, it is not unusual for a fatality to be contributed to a traffic violation,” she said. “I can tell you that Burleson Police Department has devoted officers specific to traffic enforcement, as well as the enforcement that is conducted on a regular basis by our patrol division. It is important to us to provide the safest roadways possible.”
On Saturday, a pedestrian and a Good Samaritan died early on I-35W in south Burleson.
Amanda Leann Edwards, 30, of Weatherford, and Billy Gene Howard, 55, of Springtown both died.
According to a preliminary investigation, Edwards stepped from the center median of I-35W into the northbound lanes of traffic and was struck by a Pontiac Montana minivan driven by a 54-year-old man from Austin.
The driver of the minivan stopped, as did Howard, who had witnessed the crash.
The minivan driver, Howard and Howard’s passenger went to help Edwards. Howard was then struck by a second vehicle, a Chevrolet Silverado dually pickup driven by a 41-year-old Azle man, according to police reports.
Edwards and Howard were pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is under investigation.
On Tuesday, the Burleson Police Department and the Texas Department of Transportation shut down the northbound lanes of I-35W, to allow crash reconstructionists from BPD the ability to map the scene of Howard’s and Edwards’ double fatality.
Connie Hunter, 63, of Burleson was the first traffic-related fatality in 2012. According to police reports, she died in March after a car hit her while she was trying to cross the street at the 200 block of S.E. John Jones Drive.
