HOCKLEY COUNTY, Texas — One person was killed and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was injured in a crash near Smyer on Wednesday.

Updated story link: Levelland man jailed, crash during DPS traffic stop, killing 1 person

DPS said at 6:40 a.m., a trooper was on traffic stop westbound just east of Smyer. A pickup going eastbound crossed the center median and struck the stopped vehicle as well as the trooper vehicle.

The stopped driver was pronounced dead on scene.

The driver of the pickup was sent to University Medical Center with moderate injuries and the trooper with minor to moderate injuries.

A social media post from Hockley County Sheriff’s Office around 7:36 a.m. indicated the crash occurred on State Highway 114, west of Mallard Road. Westbound traffic was being directed onto Mallard Road.

HCSO asked the public to avoid the area and find an alternate routes of travel while crews were on scene.

After this article was written, DPS provided the following statement:

“On Feb. 1, 2023, at approximately 6:40 a.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper was conducting a traffic stop on State Highway 114 westbound, about a half mile east of Smyer, Texas.  Preliminary information shows the Trooper, who was in a marked patrol unit with emergency lights activated, and the person he had stopped, who was in a Dodge Challenger, were parked on the improved shoulder of the road facing west, when a Ford F-550 truck traveling in the wrong direction on SH-114 struck the front of the Challenger, and pushed it into the front of the DPS patrol vehicle.

As a result of the collision, the driver of the Dodge Challenger died on the scene. The driver of the Ford F-550 truck had moderate injuries and was transported to University Medical Center in Lubbock.  The Trooper was also transported for evaluation and released.

An investigation is still ongoing. No additional information is available at this time.