HUNTER DWORACZYK [email protected]
A car collided head-on with a tractor trailer, leading to Taylor’s first traffic fatality of 2024.
James Russell Grenwelge, 71, of Hearne, died Wednesday, Feb. 21, after being involved with a collision in the 1600 block of S. Main Street, a Taylor Police Department press release said.
Taylor PD is investigating the incident, with autopsy results and a toxicology report pending. Police add there are no pending charges for this incident.
“(The autopsy and toxicology report) are a major part of the investigation,” Commander Joseph Branson said.
According to the police reports, officers were dispatched to a report of a reckless driver in the 3000 block of S. Main Street at 2:34 p.m.
Prior to the accident, officers said witnesses reported a white 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, controlled by Grenwelge, driving recklessly in the 3900 block of S. Main Street traveling north into the city of Taylor.
“What was being reported to us was that the driver was unable to maintain a single lane while he was driving,” Branson said. “As you can imagine, this was a fast-evolving deal, but that was what was being reported to us.
The press release said the Malibu was seen traveling northbound in the oncoming southbound lanes of traffic as officers arrived.
Since Grenwelge’s vehicle was traveling in the southbound lanes, an officer stopped southbound traffic in the 1600 block of S. Main Street before the car arrived, a statement said.
The statement said another officer made a U-turn, turned on his overhead lights and siren with the intention of making a traffic stop on Grenwelge’s Malibu, but the car continued on, passing the officer in the 1600 block.
The Malibu then struck a tractor trailer head-on.
As a result, Grenwelge was pinned inside the vehicle and was unresponsive. Police said the Taylor Fire Department and Williamson County EMS responded, removed him from the vehicle and tried to perform life-saving measures.
Grenwelge was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m.
The tractor trailer involved was a maroon 2019 Peterbilt that was pulling a flatbed style trailer loaded with large wooden beams and was stopped at the time of the collision in the outside southbound lane, Taylor PD said.
Branson said the driver of the Peterbilt did not report any injuries, but the tractor trailer suffered significant damage and had to be towed.
The roadway was closed for approximately three hours and 20 minutes. Branson said 18-wheelers require a special kind of tow truck, which added to the cleanup time.
“They’re not as available as the lighter tow trucks, so some of them take a little while to get on scene,” Branson said. “Then when you combine that with the actual investigation of the crash, it took a little while.”
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers assisted with the collision scene.
