2 Dead Following Head-On Crash on Back Country Road

BROWNWOOD, TX – Two drivers were killed in a head on crash Tuesday night on a Farm to Market road outside of Brownwood.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, on Mar. 14, 2023 at around 8:36 p.m., Texas DPS were dispatched to FM 45, around 3 miles south of Brownwood, for the report of a major crash.

When they arrived, the troopers discovered a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick that had crashed in the middle of the roadway.

In the crash there were three patients. In the Dodge there was a single passenger. He was identified as Kelly Caldwell, 53, of Brownwood. In the Chevy, there were two passengers. The driver was Michael Joe Wiser, 64, of Lorena. Both the drivers were pronounced dead on scene by Justice of the Peace Doug Hurt.

The second passenger in the Chevy, Jessie Banuelos, 38, of Lorena, has serious incapacitating injuries. No one in the crash was wearing a seatbelt.

The troopers determined that the Dodge was towing a semi-trailer traveling north on Farm to Market Road 45.  The Chevy was traveling south on Farm to Market Road 45.  The Dodge veered left across the center dividing stripe into and across the southbound lane to the shoulder of the roadway.  The Chevy to avoid the Dodge, drove into the southbound shoulder.  The Chevy struck The Dodge head on in the southbound shoulder.

At the location of the crash the speed limit is posted at 75 mph. At the time of the crash the weather conditions were clear and the road was dry.