Traffic accident claims life of 31-year-old Olney man

YOUNG COUNTY—  A driver trying to avoid hitting a deer in the road before dawn Monday started a chain of events leading to a crash that took the life of an Olney man.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Jose Flores, 33, of Carrollton, was driving westbound on Hwy. 114, just past Jean when the wreck occurred. He was driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck with three passengers.

At about 5:40 a.m., Flores swerved when he saw a deer in the road, and lost control of his truck, which entered the eastbound lane.

William Stephens, 31, of Olney, was eastbound behind the wheel of a Kia passenger vehicle, carrying no passengers. 

The truck and Kia hit head-on near the Scobee Road intersection with Hwy. 114.

Stephens was pronounced dead on scene. 

Flores and one of his passengers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other two passengers in the pickup were not injured.

 Stephens was not wearing a seat belt and there were no other passengers in his vehicle. The DPS said he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the wreck.  

Flores and the front seat passenger were wearing seat belts. The two passengers in the back seat of the truck were not wearing seat belts.

The weather conditions were foggy and misty.

There were no other vehicles involved.