Friday crash claims another life in the Big Country

A Friday afternoon crash just south of Baird left one deceased at the scene and one transported to a hospital after a failure to stop at a stop sign, according to a media release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The crash occurred just after 3:30p.m. Friday 12 miles south of Baird in Callahan County.

'Failed to stop'

Wylie Howard Parker III, 21, of Troy, Ohio, was driving north on US Highway 283. He was driving a Kia Optima sedan at the time.

Parker failed to stop at a stop sign and yield to another vehicle, according to allegations in the DPS press release.

The other vehicle was a 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by 82-year-old James William Apple of Cross Plains. At the time, Apple was traveling east on State Highway 36 and subsequently struck Parker's car on the driver's side.

The posted speed limit was 75, and it was a clear and dry afternoon in the Big Country.

While both drivers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, Parker was pronounced dead on the scene by Justice of the Peace Tom Rumfield, according to the press release.

Apple was transported via air to Hendrick Medical Center, according to the DPS. He was "in critical condition with incapacitating injuries."

The state of Texas has not had a day without a highway fatality since Nov. 7, 2000, according to Jill Christie, a traffic safety specialist with the TxDOT Abilene District.