KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – Texas Department of Public Safety released the identities of five people killed in a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 20 on June 28.
A drowsy tractor-trailer driver caused the fatal chain-reaction crash. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and struck multiple vehicles, DPS said.
The McKellar family traveled together in a 2018 Ford F-150 pickup truck. All four family members died at the accident scene. A 20-year-old daughter remains the sole survivor of the immediate McKellar family. She is fighting for her life in the ICU at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Billy McKellar, 79, of Tyler, was pronounced dead at the scene along with three other family members. Zabar McKellar, 52, of Fort Worth, also perished in the crash. Krishaun McKellar, 45, of Fort Worth, died alongside 16-year-old Kason McKellar of Fort Worth.
A 49-year-old Dallas woman also lost her life in the crash. She drove a 2021 Jeep Compass when the accident occurred. Emergency crews airlifted her to a hospital, but she died upon arrival.
Texas DPS reports the accident began when eastbound Interstate 20 traffic stopped due to an earlier crash. A 27-year-old Florida man drove his 2025 Peterbilt tractor-trailer in the right lane. Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni of Kissimmee allegedly fell asleep while driving.
His tractor-trailer crashed into the back of the McKellar family’s pickup truck. The impact pushed their F-150 into another tractor-trailer from Monroe, Louisiana. That truck then struck a 2005 Freightliner tractor-trailer.
Companioni’s tractor-trailer jackknifed after the initial impact. The vehicle slid into the left eastbound lane and struck the Dallas woman’s Jeep. The collision pushed her vehicle into a 2013 Ford Mustang.
The Mustang’s driver suffered minor injuries and received treatment at the scene. Emergency personnel transported the passenger to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A Honda Civic traveling in the left lane sustained damage from crash debris. The two occupants from Waxahachie escaped injury, according to preliminary DPS information.
Texas DPS continues investigating the multi-vehicle accident.
