3 storm chasers killed in 2-vehicle accident near Spur, Texas

[Dan Robinson]

UPDATE, 7:54PM CDT: The following details have been released:

Three storm chasers lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident near Spur, Texas on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. The identities of the 3 have been officially released by the Texas Dept. of Public Safety:

First vehicle:
Kelley Williamson, 57
Randall Yarnall, 55

Second vehicle:
Corbin Jaeger, 25

The accident was a broadside collision at the intersection of County Road 419 and Farm-to-Market road 2754 one mile west of Spur, Texas. The Williamson vehicle, which was traveling north on 419, apparently ran the stop sign at the intersection.

News links:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/storm-chasers-die-texas-car-crash-authorities/story?id=46432879
http://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/reports-two-storm-chasers-dead-in-wreck-outside-spur-texas

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:50PM CDT: Jeff Piotrowski is reporting that storm chasers are among victims of a fatal car accident in Spur, Texas. No identities yet.

https://twitter.com/Jeff_Piotrowski/status/846826066480107521

 

[Matthew Gaylor]

Spotter network has a couple chasers where Jeff's last location is (west of Spur), but that's not really reliable due to how intermittent SN is

 

[Dan Robinson]

Their location shows the accident was near the intersection of two highways, FM 2754 and HWY 419 just west of Spur. A two-way stop configuration:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...555da!8m2!3d33.4764767!4d-100.8556857!6m1!1e1

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

http://www.everythinglubbock.com/ne...ls-called-to-report-of-deadly-crash/682015058

 

[Dan Robinson]

Jeff P now saying all three fatalities are chasers. There are rumors as to the identities, but nothing will be confirmed until the families are notified. (If you know, please refrain from posting the names until official sources make it public.)

 

[Mike DeLange]

A sad day in the community, I have witnessed the worst side of social media today with some engaging in the need to be "first" in reporting the identities of victims and details of the crash. It is my hope the families of those lost are somehow comforted in these tragic times.

 

[John Sacrey]

Prayers for all involved. I came across a post on a weather forum I frequent that had names in it. I reported the post to the moderators of that forum to remove it until their next of kin have been notified and their names are released publicly.

 

[Morgan Palmer]

The Texas Dept. of Public Safety released this shortly ago out of their Lubbock office. (Just also saw the announcement on TWC). So heartbreaking. - mp (ADD: Source... https://twitter.com/HenryRamosTV/status/846888812177489921)

The drivers and occupant in the two car crash west of Spur, Tx have been identified.

The driver of the Suburban was identified as Kelley Gene Williamson, 57, of Cassville, Mo. Mr. Williamson was ejected from the vehicle at the time of the crash. Mr. Williamson was not wearing his seatbelt. The passenger in the Suburban was identified as Randall Delane Yarnall, 55, also of Cassville, Mo. Mr. Yarnall was wearing a seatbelt.

The driver of the Jeep was identified as Corbin Lee Jaeger, 25, of Peoria, Arizona. Mr. Jaeger was wearing a seatbelt.

The crash is still under investigation.

Sergeant John Gonzalez
Texas Depart. Of Public Safety

 

[cstrunk]

Terribly sad news. I have enjoyed watching Kelley and Randall's live streams on many occasions.

RIP.

 

[Andrew Kramer]

Press Release from The Weather Channel: http://weathergroup.com/newsroom/20...tement-loss-beloved-members-weather-community

 

[Dan Robinson]

Calculating based on road landmarks in Kelley's live stream, he was traveling at approximately 75 mph. The speed limit was the rural-Texas-highway-standard 70 mph. Kelley's live stream also showed no other vehicles on either road. It did not appear to be an act of deliberate recklessness, rather a simple but tragic mistake that any of us could have made - chasers or not.

 

[Harrison Cater]

It's a tragic loss for the whole community. It has been determined that Kelley wasn't wearing a seat belt, and as others have pointed out, blew a stop sign. This should serve as a reminder to ALL chasers of any skill level, experience, background etc, that distracted driving can not only cause the death of yourself, but also the deaths of other people. The most dangerous part of storm chasing is the road, and many chasers(myself included) don't necessarily follow all the rules of the road as much as we should.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Very sad to hear this.

 

[Clarence Bennett]

It is all very sad and will leave everyone in a bit of a state of shock. I only met Kelley one time, May 16 of last year near Wheeless, Ok and did not know the other two, but feel unmotivated to even consider chasing in the MS Delta on Thursday. The sad thing is based on Google street view, they had many chances to see the upcoming intersection and must have been incredibly distracted as they never slowed down as they approached. The first chance is the JCT 2794 sign, the second chance being a yellow diamond with stop sign and black arrow indicating to stop ahead, third chance after that a green sign indicating Spur to the east and White River lake to the west, fourth chance is the stop sign at the intersection. So tragic. No interest in going out Thursday.

 

[joel ewing]

I just got home 10 minutes ago from running errands all day and got myself online. I was looking at MIdland radar when my wife walked in and asked me "did you hear about the chasers killed in Texas today??". My heart and stomach just sank....here we go again. Chasing for 30 some years now, I just KNEW it would be someone I knew well or at least knew OF. I immediately logged into StormTrack....and right off the bat saw the first name.....Kelley Williamson. This blew my mind. Kelley and I never had crossed paths yet. He was a relative newcomer to this although I'd ridden shotgun with him like many of you have via his live streams several times. I had tuned into him during one of his chases very recently, and actually had the thought at that time that I'd make it a point to meet him when I begin my month of chasing this late May...as always. Since he was 57 and I'm 62, I figured that he probably spoke the same language that I did....compared to a chaser fresh out of UNO....although I truly enjoy making friends with chasers from any generation. The other gentleman in his vehicle surely must have been his primary driver. Godspeed to all 3 of these souls, now on their way to their next destinations. These three men will most certainly be in my prayers later this evening, as well as their wives and family members who are all surely in a state of devastated shock at this moment. My God.....can you imagine? One moment your loved one is here and the next they're gone forever. As the "Good Book" says....."Get your house in order", folks. This is exactly why.