CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The passenger truck driver that was killed after rear-ending a dump truck on Rodd Field Road on Friday morning has been identified by The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office as 34-year-old Jessica Lynn Mutschler.
The accident happened around 9:40 a.m. in the 1500 block of Rodd Field Road, near CCMC's Bay Area Hospital, when a dump truck that was stopped at a red light was hit from behind by a passenger truck, according to Corpus Christi Police Department Traffic Lt. Michael Peña.
The passenger truck driver was killed in the accident.
"The dump truck was stopped because traffic was backed up due to the red light, and that's when the pick-up truck struck him from behind," Peña said.
Peña said it is currently unknown whether speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.
"It's still early in the investigation, and hopefully we'll have some of those answers," he said, "But I would venture to say, just from the degree of the impact that speed was probably a factor because the pickup truck has major damage to the front end. Granted, I understand it's a dump truck they're striking, (but) pretty substantial (damage)."
He said the dump truck driver was left shaken by the accident.
"You're just stopped at a red light and you get struck from behind and somebody passes away -- that can be traumatizing," he said.
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