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A 64-year-old rancher died in a fiery head-on collision early Monday afternoon in Cross Plains.
The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. along Texas Highway 36, between Cross Plains and Abilene.
Texas Department of Public Safety said it appeared that one vehicle crossed into the other vehicle’s lane. The two pickup trucks crashed head-on and caught fire, causing severe damage to both.
Steven Wayne Pickett, 64, of Cross Plains, who was driving a Ford pickup truck, died in the wreck.
His passenger, William Bryan Partain, 36, was transported to Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene for treatment.
The crash also resulted in the death of the driver and passenger of the other pickup. Both have not been identified as of early tuesday afternoon due to the fire.
Pickett was a long-time cutting trainer who guided two horses to American Paint Horse Association World Championship titles and earned more than $210,630 during his riding career.
He worked as a horse trainer in South Carolina before moving to Texas about 10 years ago. He also trained and rode a Paint World Champion while based in South Carolina during the 1990s.
Both Pickett and Partain were ranchers in Cross Plains, where people describe both men as “real cowboys”.
Investigators have yet to identify which vehicle crossed into the other’s path along the two-lane highway, and what caused the accident.
