11-year-old apparent driver of 18-wheeler that crashed; 3 die
May 1, 2003

HOWE, Texas- An 11-year-old girl was apparently the driver of a tractor-trailer rig loaded with automobile parts that crashed into a highway overpass guardrail, burst into flames and fell onto the road below, police said Thursday

Nicole Marie Gonzales, her father Luis Gonzales, 35, and her brother Nicholas Eugene Gonzales, 3, burned to death in the early April 25 wreck on U.S. Highway 75 in Howe, Police Chief Roy Keesy said.

On the day before the wreck, Luis Gonzales drove from Alma, Mich., where he picked up a load of air conditioning compressors, to his home in Muldrow, Okla., Howe police Sgt. John Cherry said.

Investigators were unsure about how much time he spent at his home, but knew that he set out again around 9 p.m. April 24 with two of his children in the 2000 Freightliner tractor-trailer.

Cherry said the reason the father was not driving the truck at the time of the crash may not necessarily have been fatigue, but rather health complications due to a heart condition and recent illness.

"The Freightliner tractor was equipped with cruise control, therefore it was not necessary for an 11-year-old to change gears, accelerate, decelerate; all she had to do was sit behind the wheel," Cherry said.

Cherry said the truck was traveling between 50 and 75 mph when it hit the overpass guardrail head-on, and the lack of skid marks led investigators to believe that Nicole couldn't reach the pedals.

"If a larger person were driving when they hit the guardrails, they would have slapped on the brakes," Cherry said.

Nicole's body was found where the driver's seat would have been, had it not burned completely.

"She was behind the wheel," Cherry said. "She had the steering wheel in her hands when she was removed."

Luis Gonzales' body was found at the edge of the mattress in the cab's sleeper compartment, but it was unknown whether he had been in the compartment when the accident happened, authorities said.

No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, and the 3-year-old's body found on the floorboard was not in a child safety seat.

Cherry said he didn't know how far Nicole drove the 18-wheeler.

"It could be very few miles, it could be a lot of miles, but judging on traffic that we have at that time, it's very possible they could have switched in Sherman and been driving to Dallas and she would have woken her father up and switched in Dallas," he said.

Sherman is about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and about 10 miles north of Howe.

Luis, Nicole and Nicholas Gonzales were buried Wednesday at Muldrow's Memory Gardens Cemetery.

Gonzales was married and had three other children.

The Gonzales family moved to Muldrow from California about six years ago, said Jamey Money, secretary of Muldrow's First Assembly of God. The Gonzaleses attended the church.

"The baby wanted to go with his daddy," Money said. "The next one (Nicole) decided to go just so she could take care of the baby."

Counselors were available this week for students at Muldrow Middle School, where Nicole Gonzales attended, Principal Montea Wight said.

"She was a well-liked child. ... It's a sad, sad deal," Wight said

Speaking from first hand experience, it's a shame how some of these companys push the long distance truckers. The industry has come a long way, concerning safety and work enviornment (I started driving in '77), but it still has a long way to go. Don't be so quick to blame the driver alone when you hear of health or hourly related accidents. Although, I've gotta add, this one is a strange one. I've tried, and can't for the life of me figure out why this child was driving that rig.

How did she reach the pedals?  ???

...but what about the brake pedal? Or are these rigs equipped with brake controls mounted on sticks by the steering wheel? Any way up it's a tragedy  :(.

This is so sad.  It goes to show how one moment of bad judgement can ruin lives. :'(