‘He Just Kept Driving’ – Trucker Turns Highway Into a Graveyard, killing five people and injuring several others

A 27-year-old semi-truck driver is facing serious criminal charges after a devastating highway crash in Texas claimed five lives and left several others injured in what authorities are calling a “mass casualty” event.

The crash unfolded Saturday afternoon along Interstate 20 near Terrell, when Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni allegedly fell asleep behind the wheel of his 18-wheeler. According to police reports and eyewitness accounts, the truck plowed full-speed into the back of a pickup truck carrying five passengers, triggering a chain-reaction collision involving multiple other vehicles, including two more semis and three passenger cars.

Four of the five people in the pickup were killed instantly. A fifth victim, traveling in a nearby Jeep Compass, also died after one of the trucks jackknifed and slammed into the vehicle. The remaining pickup passenger was airlifted in critical condition to a local hospital.

Gonzalez-Companioni has now been charged with five counts of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in custody at Kaufman County Jail, according to PEOPLE and official court records.

Initial investigations indicate traffic had slowed ahead of the driver — but Gonzalez-Companioni didn’t notice because he had reportedly dozed off, Texas Department of Public Safety officials said. The result was an explosive crash that shook the highway and nearby neighborhoods.

Corinne Mulcahy, a resident of a nearby RV park, described the horrific moment to WFAA: “That bang was just incredible. The truck came out of nowhere and slammed into everything.” She said the chaos unfolded in seconds, leaving a line of crushed vehicles and emergency responders scrambling.

The Terrell Volunteer Fire Department called it a “mass casualty” scene, and authorities say it could have been even worse if traffic hadn’t already been slowing.

As the investigation continues, questions are mounting about how a fatigued driver ended up behind the wheel of a massive vehicle during peak traffic hours — and what safety protocols, if any, were ignored.

Authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims, but families are already calling for accountability and reform to prevent another tragedy like this from happening again.