PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Two people are dead and three others are hurt after a crash involving a big rig along Texas Highway 73 in Port Arthur.
Just before midnight a Dodge Charger and an 18-wheeler tank truck were involved in a wreck along eastbound Texas Highway 73 at West Port Arthur Rd, according to Jefferson County Precinct Seven Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett.
A semi-truck driver was traveling behind the Dodge Charger and failed to control their speed and struck the Charger, according to a news release from the Port Arthur Police Department.
Video from the scene shows the back end of the car crushed as well as the tanker turned over in the median of the highway.
An adult man and woman in the Charger died at the scene and a teenaged boy was taken by helicopter to a Houston hospital in critical condition Burnett told 12News.
Two other adults were taken by ambulance to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont but their condition is unknown at this time.
The truck driver did not appear to be injured Burnett said.
The four adults and teenaged boy in the Charger were all Cuban citizens and appeared to have been coming from an airport according to Burnett, who said they had airline tickets and luggage in the car with them.
The truck driver is a man in his 50s from Houston according to chief Timothy Duriso.
The accident investigation team from the Port Arthur Police Department is investigating the wreck Duriso said.
Two dead, 3 injured in Port Arthur wreck involving 18-wheeler
The crash shut down the highway in both directions though by 7:15 a.m. traffic appeared to be moving again according to traffic maps.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.