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350,000-pound load falls on vehicle on Texas highway, killing 2

First responders, surgical staff in Temple worked for over four hours to rescue people pinned inside their vehicle under the load

By Mitchell Willetts
Miami Herald

TEMPLE, Texas — A massive, oversized load broke loose from a trailer and killed two people on a Texas highway, officials say.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday, April 27, firefighters in Temple responded to a reported collision a short distance west from town, along State Highway 36, and arrived to find a vehicle crushed under a 350,000-pound piece of cargo, Temple Fire & Rescue said in a news release.

Officials did not say how the load came free from its trailer, but it crushed a nearby vehicle carrying three people.

“It is not known what that piece of equipment is,” fire officials said.

Two were killed but firefighters freed a third, who was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“Extrication took just over 4 hours to safely remove the driver from the vehicle,” firefighters said.

The road has been closed for cleanup and an investigation is underway, according to officials.

Temple is a roughly 120-mile drive south of Fort Worth.

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