A heart-shattering tragedy unfolded in Van Alstyne, Texas, on May 17, when a devastating head-on collision claimed the lives of Tommy Moorehead III, 41, and his two young children—6-year-old Lynnlee and 4-year-old Tommy Jr. The crash left Brooke Mustard Moorehead, wife and mother, as the sole survivor of her immediate family.
According to authorities, the collision occurred when 63-year-old Rocky Patterson attempted to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone. His vehicle collided head-on with the Moorehead family’s Chevrolet Silverado, which burst into flames upon impact. Patterson also struck a nearby Toyota Tacoma. He now faces three counts of manslaughter, with bond set at $3 million.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is leading the investigation into the crash. A close friend of the Moorehead family described the loss as “unimaginable,” saying that Brooke lost “everything” in the blink of an eye.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Brooke cover the funeral expenses for her husband and two children, as the community rallies around her in the wake of this unimaginable grief.
The Moorehead tragedy was one of several fatal incidents over a deadly weekend on North Texas roads. In total, six others lost their lives in three separate crashes, including a wrong-way collision early May 18 that claimed two more lives.
These sobering events are a harsh reminder of how quickly lives can be changed—and taken—due to reckless driving. Behind the statistics are families shattered and futures stolen.
