Left photo: The 18-wheeler that slammed into a car being driven by four women on U.S. 87 in Texas in November 2025, killing them (Kherkher Garcia, LLP). Right photo: The Nissan Altima that was involved in the deadly 18-wheeler crash that left four women dead in November 2025 (Kherkher Garcia, LLP). Insets, left to right: Lakeisha Brown, Breanna Brantley and Myunique Johnson (Kherkher Garcia, LLP/GoFundMe).
An 18-wheeler driver in Texas slammed into a Nissan Altima with four women inside, killing all of them, in what is being described as a case of "distracted" driving — with the "likely source of that distraction" being his cellphone, according to a lawsuit.
Newly released dashcam video allegedly shows the trucker, Guadalupe Villarreal, rear-ending the Altima on Nov. 5, 2025, as it was driving in the right lane at a slower speed due to a flat tire, according to lawyers for the families of victims Lakeisha Brown, Breanna Brantley, Myunique Johnson and Taylor White.
The four women were traveling south on U.S. 87 when Villarreal, who was employed by Parkway Transport and Scrappy Trucking, came up behind them while hauling a load of potatoes for H-E-B, a grocery shipping company that hired and "wholly-owns" Parkway. Video captured from inside a passing car allegedly shows Villarreal smash into the back of the Nissan.
"Villarreal was driving fast, inattentively, and failed to control his speed," a 26-page legal complaint alleges, naming Villarreal and his employers as defendants.
"Villarreal slammed his 18-wheeler into the rear of decedents' passenger vehicle violently," the complaint charges. "Preliminary evidence … shows that Villarreal was distracted and the likely source of that distraction is his mobile phone."
The victims' families accuse Villarreal of "failing to take evasive action" and "failure to control his speed," citing "driver inattention" as the reason he hit the Nissan "while distracted due to the use of a handheld device." It's unclear whether Villarreal was talking or texting at the time of the crash, with the families' lawyers requesting a court order to have his phone "as well as any other mobile communications device in his possession" be preserved and inspected.
An official crash report filed by the Texas Department of Transportation says Villarreal "failed to control speed." No criminal charges have been filed related to the crash.
"The incident and resulting injuries did not immediately take decedents' lives," the complaint says. "Rather, before dying, decedents endured extreme conscious physical pain, suffering and mental anguish during and after the incident in question."
The video from the passing vehicle features audio of passengers inside witnessing both the lead-up and aftermath of the deadly crash.
"They're driving on a flat," a person inside the car says.
"No!" the rider screams as the crash unfolds.
"Oh, f—!" another person shouts. "Call the police, call the police."
The lawyers for the families say the video shows how Villarreal's truck was "initially a significant distance behind the restricted vehicle" before he hit the women. "Johnson's vehicle launched across the lanes of traffic where it ultimately landed facing north in the median between the southbound and northbound lanes with the truck flipped on its right side in the same median," the lawyers say in a press release.
"Four young women's lives have been unimaginably cut short, leaving their families devastated, because these companies and their driver demonstrated brazen disregard for the safety of others," a statement from the families reads. "The shocking footage shows this driver failing to control his speed or be remotely aware of his surroundings, resulting in not only the catastrophic loss of life but inflicting crushing heartbreak on their loved ones."
The families say they intend to hold the defendants "fully accountable for their actions and extreme negligence in such an avoidable tragedy." They are seeking unspecified monetary damages related to "mental anguish, pecuniary losses, funeral expenses, loss of companionship," and more.
Parkway Transport, Scrappy Trucking and H-E-B did not respond to Law&Crime's requests for comment on Tuesday.
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