Texas Department of Transportation

Fiery Wrong-Way Crash Closes DNT Early Monday Morning

The crash scene was cleared before 10 a.m.

A deadly wrong-way crash involving several vehicles closed a portion of the Dallas North Tollway early Monday morning.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Lonny Haschel said the crash was reported about 2 a.m. along the southbound lanes of the freeway near West University Boulevard.

Video sent to iSee@nbcdfw.com appears to show a white Range Rover traveling the wrong way in the southbound lanes of the tollway. The SUV eventually crashed head-on into a Nissan Altima, killing the driver of the Nissan, Haschel said.

A white Range Rover traveling north in the southbound lanes collided head-on with a Nissan Altima, killing the Nissan driver, Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Lonny Haschel said. The driver of the Range Rover was hospitalized at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

The driver of the Range Rover was hospitalized at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

No other injuries were reported.

Haschel said the investigation is ongoing. The freeway reopened after the scene was cleared before 10 a.m. Monday.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office was not able to release the victim’s name as of Monday afternoon because the victim’s next of kin has not yet been identified.

The last fatal wrong-way crash on the DNT happened in April.

Shelbi Stephens, 23, was killed near Maple Avenue when a wrong-way driver was traveling north in the southbound lanes of the DNT and collided into the car she was riding in.

Over the years, the North Texas Tollway Authority has taken steps to improve safety along the DNT hoping to avoid further tragedies including: lowering ‘wrong way’ signs, adding pavement markers on the south end of the tollway, building a median to avoid accidental left turns at the Wycliff exit ramp, adding LED enhanced signs at three exit ramps and creating a detection system to alert authorities of a possible wrong-way driver.

A deadly wrong-way crash involving several vehicles closed a portion of the Dallas North Tollway early Monday morning.
A deadly wrong-way crash involving several vehicles closed a portion of the Dallas North Tollway early Monday morning.
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