LPD confirms 3 dead, 4 injured after I-27 crash Thursday evening

LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Lubbock Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit confirmed that a wrong-way driver crash on Thursday evening in the 6500 block of I-27 resulted in three deaths and four injuries. According to a press release, Lubbock authorities were initially notified of a wrong-way driver and two other vehicles in the 6600 block of I-27 at approximately 7:25 p.m. Upon officers’ arrival, authorities located two out of three vehicles engulfed in flames, at which time, an LPD officer worked to remove a three-year-old child from one of the vehicles, suffering from minor injuries. The child was transported to University Medical Center via ambulance with serious injuries. LPD officials say that a two-year-old, who was also engulfed in the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Officers say that through the course of the investigation, authorities say that a passenger car, driven by Oscar Hernandez Sotelo Jr., 29, was traveling south in the northbound lanes, with two children in the backseat, when the vehicle collided with another passenger car driven by Jairon Foster, 24, as it was traveling north. Foster was transported to UMC via ambulance with serious injuries, while the passenger in Foster’s vehicle, Lakecha Collins, 60, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Officials say that after the first collision, the passenger car driven by Sotelo Jr. continued traveling south and struck a pickup truck head-on. Due to this, the vehicles caught fire and Sotelo Jr. was pronounced deceased at the scene. Both the driver of the truck, Alexis Wallace, 28, and her passenger, Aaliyah Wallace, 19, were transported to Covenant Medical Center with serious injuries. Police say that information indicates that alcohol and speed may have been a factor in the collision. Investigators are asking witnesses, or anyone who might have video of the moments leading up to the collision, to contact them via email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit EverythingLubbock.com for further updates.