On Thursday, August 31, 2023 at 4:30 A.M., Damian Cervantes, 19, of Dalhart, was driving a 2018 Ford Escape eastbound, exiting a curve on FM 297, and unknowingly approaching a two-vehicle crash in the roadway that had occurred moments earlier.
Due to it being dark, the Cervantes did not see disabled vehicles on the road in time to stop, so he attempted to maneuver between the two vehicles to avoid a collision.
Ricardo Pinon Cuevas, of Cactus, a pedestrian, was in the roadway between the two crashed vehicles. The Cervantes did not see the pedestrian in the roadway until it was too late and struck him. Cuevas was pronounced deceased on the scene by Sherman County Justice of the Peace Brenda Acker.
Cervantes, who was wearing his seatbelt, was not injured.
This crash is being investigated by Texas Highway Patrol Troopers.
A preliminary crash report will be available for purchase online in 10 days: https://cris.dot.state.tx.us/public/Purchase/crashReportSearch.htm
