A chain-reaction crash involving five vehicles on State Highway 171 near County Road 4223, just north of Hillsboro, left two people dead and two others in critical condition Saturday night, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. on September 5, 2026, when a northbound driver attempted to pass a pickup truck and struck a farm tractor pulling equipment that had its flashing lights on, causing the equipment to break loose. Moments later, a southbound SUV and a southbound pickup truck collided with debris left in the roadway. When the pickup's two occupants and a passenger from the SUV got out and stood in the road, another vehicle struck them.
The driver who initially collided with the farm equipment was flown to a hospital in critical condition. The two people from the pickup truck, a 39-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman from Arlington who were married with two young daughters, were pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV passenger, a 12-year-old, was also airlifted and remains in critical condition. No other injuries were reported.
DPS troopers, Hillsboro-area DPS units, CareFlite, and fire crews from Woodbury and Peoria responded to the scene. Investigators believe alcohol may have played a role in the crash that initially struck the farm equipment, and the case remains under investigation.
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