1 dead, 3 injured after wrong-way Interstate 27 crash Friday in Plainview

PLAINVIEW — A 25-year-old woman is dead after driving the wrong way down the interstate and causing a three-vehicle crash Friday morning in Hale County, according to state troopers.

Evelyn Merced-Rojas, 25 of Kemp, was traveling south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 27 near mile marker 48 when the 2019 Ford EcoSport she was driving struck a 2018 Chevrolet pickup head-on, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said. As the two vehicles were coming to rest, they collided with a third vehicle, a 2001 Chevrolet passenger car, which was traveling behind the pickup.

Merced-Rojas was pronounced dead at the scene due to her injuries, DPS said.

The driver of the pickup, 25-year-old Deja Sade Garcia of Midland, was injured and taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock for treatment. Garcia's passenger, 25-year-old Jared Jeffrey Smith, also of Midland, was also taken to UMC for injuries suffered in the crash.

Edwin Antonio Argueta, 54 of Plainview, was driving the passenger car and was taken to Covenant Hospital in Plainview for treatment of injuries related to the crash.

Everyone involved in the crash was wearing a seatbelt, DPS said.

Family members have organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for funeral expenses for Merced-Rojas, who leaves behind an 8-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, according to the campaign.

The crash remains under investigation.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 1 dead, 3 injured after wrong-way Interstate 27 crash Friday in Plainview