VICTORIA COUNTY, Texas — A 20-year-old man from Sugar Land has died following a rollover crash caused by a tire failure on U.S. Highway 77, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The crash happened on Sunday afternoon just south of the Victoria County line.
Authorities reported that a 2015 Jeep Wrangler was traveling northbound when its left-rear tire blew out due to delamination. The vehicle lost control, entered the grassy shoulder on the east side of the roadway, and rolled over multiple times before coming to rest on its side facing west.
Jakendryck Collins, a rear-seat passenger, was transported by Halo Flight to a hospital in Corpus Christi, where he later died on Tuesday from his injuries.
EMS transported the driver, a 19-year-old man, and another 20-year-old passenger, and an additional 18-year-old passenger was also airlifted to Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital.
All occupants are reported to be from Sugar Land.
Vehicle Tire Must Be Examined for Potential Defects After Fatal Jeep Rollover on U.S. 77
It is hard to read about a young man losing his life and three others being seriously hurt after a reported tire failure. Most drivers never imagine that a tire can come apart at highway speed, and when it does, there is usually no time to react or avoid what follows.
In crashes like this, the attention often goes straight to the driver. In a single-vehicle rollover, people tend to assume someone was speeding, not paying attention, or lost control. That may be the starting point for an investigation, but when a tire fails, the questions cannot stop there.
Here, early reports indicate the left-rear tire blew out due to delamination before the Jeep rolled. That detail matters. Delamination, or tread separation, is not something that just happens by chance. Tires are not supposed to come apart under normal highway driving.
A defective tire can look fine on the outside and then suddenly explode under conditions it should easily withstand. This is what is known as a tire defect. A defective tire is a tire that was unsafe to be on the road from the moment it was manufactured.
Our firm has handled tire failure and tire defect cases for decades, and we’ve written extensively on this area of the law. Even with this experience, it is still deeply troubling to see another crash where a tire problem may have played a role in such a tragic outcome. We have seen firsthand how defective tires can change lives in an instant on Texas roads. These crashes should not be treated as just another accident. The manufacturer should be held responsible.
Jakendryck Collins’s family deserves clear answers. So do the injured and their families. They deserve to know why this tire failed and whether the manufacturer of the tire is at fault for this crash.
Our thoughts are with the surviving family and the injured. May they get the answers they deserve.
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The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, with extensive experience in complex auto/tire defect and commercial vehicle cases.
Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.
