Fatal Cherokee County Crash

Press Release From DPS

Tuesday morning at about 7:40, Troopers responded to a fatal crash on FM-241, 4.7 miles southwest of Alto in Cherokee County. The investigating Troopers preliminary report indicates that the driver of a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500, Oscar Alejandro Ibarra, 18, of Nacogdoches, was traveling northwest on FM-241 approaching a curve in the roadway to the left. The vehicle was traveling at an unsafe speed for the wet road conditions; the driver failed to negotiate the curve and traveled off the roadway where it struck a tree. The driver and front-seat passenger, identified as Brittany Lynnell Tucker, 31, of Salado, were not injured. Two backseat unrestrained passengers, identified as Esperanza Chavez Veliz, 59, of Nacogdoches, and Maria Linda Lira, 66, of Nacogdoches, were injured in the crash. Both were transported to UT-Health–Tyler where Veliz was later pronounced; Lira in stable but serious condition. The crash remains under investigation.