Hale County Crash Involving Pickup and Semi Kills Two

HALE COUNTY, TX – Two older adults were killed in a crash on Saturday, December 28, at the intersection of US 70 and FM 179.

The crash happened just before 5:00 p.m. and involved a 2022 Chevrolet pickup truck and a 1997 Peterbilt semi-truck. 

According to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver of the Chevrolet, Robert Curtis Dennis, 96, and the passenger, Mary Hatley Dennis, 89, both of Olton, Texas, died at the scene from injuries sustained in the crash.

The Chevrolet pickup traveling north on FM 179 made a left turn onto US 70, failing to yield the right of way to the Peterbilt truck heading east on US 70. The Peterbilt struck the Chevrolet's driver's side.

Robert Dennis was not wearing a seatbelt, and the passenger, Mary Dennis, was wearing a seatbelt. The couple were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Peterbilt driver was identified as Colton Rabb, 26, from Elmore City, Oklahoma. Rabb was not injured in the crash and was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident.

The crash remains under investigation by authorities.