Wallace Perry, 70, was driving his Chevrolet Impala west on State Highway 105 late Thursday afternoon when everything changed in a split second. Gloria Sanders, also 70, sat beside him. Both lived in Washington. They never made it home.
Around 5:30 p.m. on October 8, a Chevrolet Equinox came the other way. The driver tried to pass another car in a no-passing zone west of the Brazos River. The Equinox slammed head-on into the Impala.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers found Perry and Sanders dead at the scene. Washington County Justice of the Peace Douglas Zwiener pronounced them. Brooklyn Imani, 18, from Cypress, rode in the back of the Equinox. She died there too.
Three young women survived the wreck but took heavy hits. Kayla Bravo, 19, of Cypress, drove the Equinox. Katherine Atwell, 18, of Montgomery, and Leyla Aljaloudi, 18, of Cypress, sat with her. Helicopters flew all three to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Doctors listed them in critical condition.
The highway shut down for hours near the Washington-Grimes County line. Troopers worked the scene under fading light. They said alcohol played no part. The investigation keeps going.
Perry and Sanders were 70 years old. Imani had just turned 18. One car full of older folks met another full of teenagers. The no-passing zone did not stop the Equinox from crossing the line.
Families now face empty chairs and unanswered questions. Troopers will release more details when they have them. For now the road is open again, but the loss stays put.
Leave a Reply