18-wheeler rear-ends 3 vehicles in fatal crash near Lindale

SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - An 18-wheeler rear-ended another 18-wheeler, causing a crash that involved four vehicles.

On Apr. 26, Otabek T. Mamadaliev, 50, of Newburgh, New York, was traveling westbound on I-20 about three miles west of Lindale in a 2020 Volvo truck tractor towing a Cottrell semi-trailer. At about 2 p.m., he collided with the rear of a 2013 Freightliner driven by Randy J. Rankins, 54, of Statesville, North Carolina, according to a report from DPS.

The second vehicle crashed into the back of a 2019 Freightliner driven by Jared L. Williams, 60, of Shreveport, Louisiana, which in turn crashed into a 2009 Hyundai Sonata driven by Beth F. Knox, 56, of Lindale, the report said.

Mamadaliev was pronounced dead, while Rankins and Knox suffered non-incapacitating injuries. Williams was not injured, according to the report. All involved were wearing seatbelts.

The report notes that it was raining at the time of the crash, and the road was wet.

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