The Midland Police Department (MPD) responded to an early morning traffic incident that claimed the life of an elderly man. The accident occurred shortly before 8 a.m. in the 8700 block of Highway 191.
According to a press release issued by the city of Midland, the decedent—whom authorities identified as 73-year-old Tommy Earl Palmer—was operating a 2016 Chevy Cruz.
Citing an MPD report on the incident, the release said that witnesses told authorities Palmer stopped in the westbound roadway for an unknown reason.
According to the release, a driver of a Peterbilt cement truck then smashed his front distributor into the back of Palmer’s vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Emergency personnel extracted Palmer and rushed him to Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH), where he succumbed to his injuries.
The release said that authorities notified Palmer’s next of kin and are currently investigating the case.