JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — Johnson and Somervell County residents say the stretch of U.S. Highway 67 where six people died in a crash Tuesday is notorious for dangerous driving.
"We call it 'Death Highway' out here," one person familiar with the area told WFAA Wednesday.
Investigators believe a 17-year-old boy driving to Glen Rose attempted to pass in a no passing zone on the two-lane highway. He hit a minivan, head-on, in the northbound lane, state troopers say.
The 17-year-old driver and his 17-year-old passenger are in the hospital with serious injuries. One person who was inside the minivan is also in the hospital, while six others in the Honda Odyssey died, officials say.
Of the nine people involved in the wreck, six were not wearing seatbelts, officials said. Of the six who were not buckled in, four died, according to authorities.
"It was a mess," said Chris Snyder, who saw the vehicle wreckage Tuesday.
Snyder's family home sits on County Road 1119, about one-quarter mile from the crash site. In the last 10 years, he says three different drivers have veered off U.S. Highway 67 into his fence.
He says knows at least two other people who've recently died in crashes near the home on the highway.
"People are texting as they drive," he said. "I've seen wrecks on straightaways that make no sense."
"People pass me on the shoulder as I'm coming out here," he continued. "It's just terrible driving.
Merging onto U.S. Highway 67 from the county road is especially challenging, he added.
"When I come to the split in the road, I pay more attention to what's behind me than I do what's coming toward me," he said.
News of the crash Tuesday prompted similar complaints from others who live in the area.
"We call it 'Death Highway' out here," said Laurel Ball, who grew up near Nemo. "When you get past 1119, it has a lot of trees, and it's very narrow. Not to mention, depending on the time of day, the sun is shining, and it makes it blinding."
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has acknowledged the highway could be safer. In 2022, it proposed a plan to widen the two-lane road to four lanes with a wide, grass median.
That project has not been funded.
The move should prevent head-on collisions, though Snyder worries TxDOT's design will not solve the complications involving County Road 1119.
Under the proposal, trucks leaving the county road will have to cross more lanes of traffic to drive south toward Glen Rose on U.S. Highway 67. A sharp curve near the intersection means drivers heading north might not immediately see a truck waiting at the median.
The state would claim some of Snyder's property to widen the highway.
"It's all needed, obviously, but I totally disagree with TxDOT's decision on where to put (the reconfigured intersection)," Snyder said. "We don't mind giving up the land, but they're not improving the situation."