SABINE COUNTY, Texas — A Deep East Texas nursing home says one of their residents is dead following a crash on U.S. 96 Monday morning.
According to Legacies Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hemphill, their transportation van was involved in a wreck they say was caused by thick smoke.
Pineland Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joseph Lane responded around 4 a.m. regarding an 18-wheeler wreck on U.S. 96 on Monday morning.
Emergency crews were able to clear the scene around 7 a.m. after receiving a call 30 minutes later for a fatal multi-car wreck.
Due to the rough road conditions, Lane says the smoke caused zero visibility allowing for a "chain-reaction" to create the fatal wreck.
Drivers were detoured to FM 2343 to SH 87 and to FM 2426 into Pineland. They could then return to U.S. 96. TxDOT has since reopened the affected roadways.
Along with the Pineland Volunteer Department, Sabine County EMS, Allegiance EMS, Texas DPS, Texas Department of Transportation, Pineland Police Department, Sabine County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Forest Service responded to the scene.