Late on Wednesday morning, a deeply troubling accident claimed the life of 24-year-old Guillermo Beltran Jr., of Eagle Pass, when his 2023 Cadillac CT4 left its northbound lane on County Road 1270 in rural Midland County, Texas, and collided head-on with a parked 2013 Freightliner tractor-trailer around 12:50 a.m. on October 29.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the trailer-towed semi was parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane when Beltran’s vehicle crossed out of its own lane and struck the front of the truck. The impact was severe, scattering debris across the roadway, and Beltran was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer, who was inside his vehicle at the time, walked away without injury.
Investigators noted Beltran was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash—something DPS officials highlighted as a tragic factor in what became a fatal outcome. They also said the cause of the lane-departure remains under investigation, with possibilities including speed, distraction, fatigue, or road conditions being explored.
The stretch of County Road 1270 where the collision took place is described by local residents as sparsely lit, rural and often used by commercial trucks parked on the shoulder. After the accident, the road was shut down for several hours while troopers documented the scene, collected data, and photographed both vehicles to reconstruct how the crash played out.
In Eagle Pass and beyond, the loss of Beltran has hit his family and community hard. Friends and relatives took to social media to remember him as kind-hearted, hardworking and well-loved. “He was loved by everyone who knew him,” one friend shared. “It just doesn’t feel real.”
While the DPS investigation continues, authorities are urging anyone who may have seen a vehicle traveling in that area just before 12:50 a.m. or who may have witnessed anything unusual on that stretch of road to come forward. In the meantime, Beltran’s family remains in grieving, and the crash serves as a stark reminder of how quickly tragedy can strike on rural roads.
In the quiet pre-dawn of October 29, a young life ended far too soon—an abrupt, heartbreaking moment for one community and a caution to us all about the importance of restraint, attention, and the unpredictable nature of the road.