Corrigan, TX (August 20, 2026) — One man was injured in a wreck early on Wednesday morning, August 19, on U.S. Highway 59 just north of FM 1987 in Polk County, according to investigators. It happened around 4:21 a.m.
Investigators said a 1991 International truck tractor towing a flatbed trailer was headed south on Highway 59 and attempted to turn back north through a crossover. A 2024 Freightliner towing a box trailer was headed north at the time.
The International failed to yield at a yield sign and pulled into the Freightliner’s path, where it was struck, investigators said.
The International’s driver, 55-year-old Aaron Blankenship of Longview, was not injured. The Freightliner’s driver, 46-year-old Adolph Ross of Elm Grove, Louisiana, was taken to Memorial Hermann Houston for non-life-threatening injuries.
The investigation remained ongoing as this report was filed, with no further details available. We hope Ross makes a full recovery.
Why Crossover Turns on Divided Highways Require Extra Caution?
Crossovers on divided highways exist mainly for official or emergency U-turns, allowing a vehicle to cross from one side of the highway to the other at a designated, controlled point. Many are marked with a yield sign, meaning the vehicle making the crossing must wait for a safe gap in oncoming traffic before completing the turn.
Judging that gap can be difficult given how fast highway traffic moves, and the challenge grows significantly for larger vehicles. A tractor-trailer needs more time to accelerate and more distance to fully clear the opposing lanes than a passenger car would, which means a gap that looks adequate for a car may not be nearly enough room for a loaded truck.
Because of this size difference, drivers of large trucks are generally encouraged to wait for a noticeably larger gap than they might otherwise judge sufficient before attempting a crossover. Taking the extra time to confirm that oncoming traffic is far enough away, rather than estimating based on how a car would handle the same turn, can prevent pulling directly into another vehicle’s path.
