TRAVIS COUNTY (KXAN) — All lanes of U.S. Highway 183 are closed near FM 973 in southeast Travis County due to a fatal crash Tuesday morning.
A truck towing a trailer rear-ended a car that slowed down on the 9100 block of the highway, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Deon Cockrell said. The car that slowed went into oncoming traffic and was hit, then caught on fire. The truck and trailer, meanwhile, hit a nearby church. Officials are working to stabilize the church building and said no one related to the church was hurt.
Austin-Travis County EMS said a person died and another was declared a trauma alert.
The trauma alert patient was taken to St. David’s South Medical Center in Austin for treatment, ATCEMS said.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office originally said the southbound lanes and one northbound lane were closed, but an update later said lanes in both directions are closed.
The intersection of U.S. 183 and FM 973 is south of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and north of the State Highway 130 and State Highway 45 interchange. ATCEMS said the nearest cross street to the crash is McKenzie Drive, which is just south of the Colton area.