Two people killed in Rusk County when tire blew out, driver lost control of truck

By KLTV Digital Media Staff | December 6, 2019 at 3:25 PM CST - Updated December 6 at 8:35 PM

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Texas Department of Public Safety released information regarding a fatal wreck in Rusk County.

The wreck happened Thursday at 3:25 p.m. Troopers responded to the scene, on FM-2012, two miles south of the city of Laird Hill in Rusk County.

The investigators’ preliminary report indicates that the driver of a 1991 GMC pickup, Robert Deveral Barber, 40, of Gladewater was traveling north on FM-2012 when the front right tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle entered the north ditch and struck a pipe fence and tree.

Both the driver and passenger, Chad Eugene Blackman, 32, of Grand Prairie, were pronounced at the scene by Judge Pat McCrory and were taken to Rader Funeral Home in Kilgore.

Both the driver and passenger were unrestrained. The crash remains under investigation.

There is a fundraising page set up to assist Blackman’s family with funeral expenses. You can learn more at this link.