DPS seeks witnesses to fatal Oct. 26 crash

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

Witnesses to a collision that clipped short the life of a Kyle child are asked to come forward and help bring the driver responsible to justice.

On Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, a gravel truck was seen to pass another vehicle while traveling southbound on Highway 80, in rural Caldwell County near Fentress. As the truck driver

passed, he or she clipped another vehicle, sending it into the path of oncoming traffic and causing the crash that killed Lily Marie Olvera Bunker, the 5-year-old daughter of Jaime and Mia Bunker, of Kyle.

According to reports from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) investigators, the truck driver passed improperly, then continued southbound without stopping to render aid or determine whether anyone was injured in the resulting crash.

Bunker, a kindergartener at the Prairie Lea School, who was riding in her parents’ vehicle at the time of the crash, was seriously injured and transported to an area medical facility, where she was later pronounced dead by doctors, investigators said.

Some witnesses at the scene described the truck as a white or gray tractor-trailer, pulling a load of gravel.
However, other witnesses who stopped to render aid to the victims of the accident left the scene before DPS Troopers could take their statements. Authorities investigating the crash hope those witnesses may be able to provide additional information about the crash, which could lead to the identification and questioning of the driver of the semi.

Funeral services for Lily Bunker were held on Friday, Oct. 30. A memorial fund in her honor was set up at the First-Lockhart National Bank, P.O. Box 600, Lockhart, Texas, 78644.

Anyone with information about the crash is encouraged to contact the Caldwell County office of the Texas Department of Public Safety at (512) 398-4333.