Wrong-Way Crash on I-27 in Lubbock Kills 3, Injures 4

What Happened on I-27?

At about 7:23 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2026, Lubbock police were first notified of a wrong-way driver near 19th Street and Interstate 27, according to KCBD and EverythingLubbock (KLBK/KAMC). Before officers reached the driver, a crash was reported in the 6600 block of I-27, near 66th Street, involving the wrong-way vehicle and two other vehicles. Officers arrived to find two of the three vehicles engulfed in flames.

Police say a car driven by 29-year-old Oscar Hernandez Sotelo Jr. was traveling south in the northbound lanes, with two children in the back seat, when it struck a northbound passenger car driven by 24-year-old Jairon Foster. Foster was taken to University Medical Center with serious injuries, and his passenger, 60-year-old Lakecha Collins, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sotelo’s car continued south and then struck a pickup truck head-on. The pickup’s driver, 28-year-old Alexis Wallace, and her passenger, 19-year-old Aaliyah Wallace, were taken to Covenant Medical Center with serious injuries. Sotelo was pronounced dead at the scene.

An officer pulled a 3-year-old child from one of the burning vehicles and suffered minor injuries during the rescue, police say; that child was taken to University Medical Center with serious injuries. A 2-year-old who was also in that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. In all, police report three people were killed and four others were injured. The Lubbock Police Department’s Major Crash Unit is investigating, and police have said early information suggests alcohol and speed may have been factors — a preliminary account that has not been finalized and does not, by itself, establish fault.

Who Can Be Affected?

• Jairon Foster, who was seriously hurt, and the family of his passenger, Lakecha Collins, who was killed
• Alexis Wallace and Aaliyah Wallace, who were seriously hurt in the pickup truck
• The families of the two young children who were in the wrong-way vehicle
• Anyone left with medical bills, lost income, or the loss of a loved one after the crash

What Kind of Claim Might Apply?

Attorneys who handle Texas crash cases generally describe several paths that can apply once the facts are established:

• A wrongful death and survival claim — under Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, the surviving spouse, children, and parents of a person killed by another’s wrongful act can generally seek compensation, and the estate can bring a survival claim of its own.
• Personal injury claims for the people who were hurt — those seriously injured in a crash like this often face hospital bills, lost income, and a long recovery, and Texas law lets an injured person seek compensation for those harms.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — when an at-fault driver has died and may have carried little or no insurance, a person’s own UM/UIM coverage can matter a great deal. The Texas Department of Insurance explains that this optional coverage helps pay for injuries caused by a driver who has no insurance or not enough; a lawyer can review each injured person’s own auto policy and any other applicable coverage.
• Preserving the evidence — with a fatal fire and multiple vehicles, attorneys often move quickly to preserve vehicle data, scene evidence, and the findings of the official crash investigation, including any toxicology results, before that evidence is lost.

None of this assumes fault on anyone’s part — it reflects the questions Texas attorneys say injured people and grieving families often ask after a crash like this, and the evidence they typically want preserved before conclusions are drawn.

Why Acting Quickly Can Matter

For most Texas wrongful death and injury cases, the statute of limitations is generally two years, though claims involving injured children can be treated differently — a lawyer can explain how the deadlines apply to a specific situation. Vehicles that burned, along with scene evidence and data inside the cars, can be released, repaired, or lost within days or weeks. Many families and injured people choose to have a lawyer send a preservation letter and begin an independent review early, while the official investigation is still developing and the evidence is still available.

Sources

1. KCBD — 3 killed, 4 injured in wrong-way crash on I-27 in Lubbock, police say
2. EverythingLubbock (KLBK/KAMC) — Serious injuries reported in I-27 wrong-way driver crash
3. Texas Department of Insurance — Auto insurance guide (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage)
4. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 71 (Wrongful Death; Survival)
5. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Chapter 16 (Limitations)