The wife and family of the trucker killed in a dramatic, fiery crash near Dallas on Tuesday is asking for help in finding footage of the moments leading up to the incident.
Investigators say that 71-year-old Gustavo Gomez collided with another car on September 21st before crashing over the barrier and falling onto the roadway below in a fiery, fatal wreck. The car involved in the incident sustained damage on the right side, but the motorist was not hurt.
Now, Gomez’s family is hoping someone captured footage of the crash that led to their loved one’s death.
“He was always so careful. He always made sure his trucks were good when they were driving or before he drove,” said Gomez’s wife, Helen Torres, who says Gomez drove trucks for over 20 years. “He always knew what he was driving, he knew that was a big machine and that he had to be watching out for everybody.”
Torres says Gomez was delivering mail to Missouri for the USPS when he died. He was employed by Bancroft and Sons Transportation.
“He was a very hard worker,” Torres said. “He always has been for his family. Whatever it was, whether it was driving across the country or not, he always made sure we were taken care of and provided for. He was such a good man. Very witty, always acting like a comedian making sure no one was sad. He was kindhearted and would help anyone who needed it. If it were in his hands and he could help at that moment, he would,” Torres added.
The Allen Police Department has not said what led to the collision between the car and the semi truck, but Torres believes that the wreck was likely not her husband’s fault, so she is asking anyone who may have seen or recorded the incident to step forward to help the investigation.
“We’re broken right now, and we’re lost. We need some understanding of what happened so we can move forward,” Torres said. She has yet to see the footage of the wreck, but says she does not plan to.
“I don’t want to see my husband’s death. There’s no coming back from that, and there’s no reason for me to see it,” she said. “He was supposed to come home. This shouldn’t have happened.”
Torres added that Bancroft and Sons Transportation has offered to pay for Gomez’s funeral.