KENDALL COUNTY, Texas — Five people were killed in a crash on a rural highway northwest of San Antonio on Monday morning, officials said.
The Kendall County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened in the 900 block of Highway 87 North.
The crash was reported around 7:30 am Monday by state troopers and traffic was backed up for hours.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is leading the investigation into the crash.
According to a preliminary report from DPS, a white vehicle with four men inside was traveling northbound on Highway 87, and one man was driving his black vehicle southbound.
According to DPS, the white vehicle passed in a no-passing zone and struck the black vehicle near the center of the highway.
Multiple family members and friends of the victims arrived on the scene and were distraught after learning what happened.
The two vehicles involved included a white Mazda sedan and a black Nissan SUV. Both sustained severe damage.
Around 12:30 p.m., the highway reopened once first responders cleared the scene. Multiple agencies from Kendall County and Kerr County responded.
On Tuesday DPS released the identities of the victims. They are:
- Nelson Rivera-Aguilar, 32
- Orland Machorro-Ramos, 16
- Jose Gonzalez-Galvez, 30
- Kevin Portillo, 28
- Nathan Malosh, 32
Andrew Valenzuela is from Comfort and travels down this stretch of road every day.
"It was really scary just hearing about it," he said.
Valenzuela said he has seen several issues on this highway.
"People get into little fender benders there coming around that big turn coming around," he said. "A lot of people street race. It is a long stretch of highway. Every morning you will see people speeding through there cutting it close on those turns."
Valenzuela said he is always mindful of other drivers and hopes people will be more careful on the road.
"I make sure I am fully awake," he said. "I am always ready. I just want everyone to be safe."
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