UPDATED: San Marcos Police Investigate Fatal Traffic Accident

The San Marcos Police Department has confirmed contact with the next of kin and released the names of the two fatalities from the Nov. 14 accident on IH-35 southbound at the 204B Exit (CM Allen).

Orlando Valdez (08/13/1990), of Corpus Christi, was driving the 2014 Chevrolet Spark and Dana Watson (08/31/1998), of Orange Grove, was in the passenger seat when the vehicle was struck from behind by a 2007 Chevrolet dump truck.

SMPD reports the two were traveling home from an event in Austin.

The accident remains under investigation and SMPD is unavailable for comment.


The San Marcos Police Department is investigating a major collision that occurred on IH-35 southbound at the 204B Exit (CM Allen) early this morning and resulted in two fatalities.

At approximately 2:45 AM on Thursday, Nov. 14, San Marcos Police, Fire, and Hays County EMS were dispatched to the incident, which involved a passenger vehicle that had been struck from behind by a 2007 Chevrolet dump truck.

The driver of the passenger vehicle was killed instantly. The passenger in the vehicle was transported to Central Texas Medical Center by Hays County EMS and pronounced deceased. Both were pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace Jo Anne Prado. Names are being withheld until next of kin has been notified.

The driver of the truck, Isaac Fettig (09/13/1999) of Spencer, TN, was transported to Ascension Seton Hospital in Kyle by Hays County EMS with minor injuries.

Preliminary information suggests the passenger vehicle was either stopped or going slow in the far-right lane when the large dump truck collided into it. The 204B Exit was shut down for several hours and IH-35 southbound was shut down for about an hour while investigators worked the scene.

The collision is being investigated by the Collision Investigation Team of the San Marcos Police Department.

These are the 9th and 10th traffic fatalities in San Marcos for 2019.

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6 Comments

  1. I don’t know how or where to say this. I just needed to say it publicly… somewhere. I was a close friend of the victim (the owner of the vehicle), and was supposed to be along for the trip. The other person in the struck vehicle took my place at the last moment. I stayed home for an exam. I have horrible survivor’s guilt. I know that nothing I could have done would have done anything, but I would have done anything to change it if I could. I just… I wanted someone to know.

    1. John,

      Thank you for confiding in us. Please seek out some professional help for yourself. It’s natural that you would have guilt but it’s important that you talk to someone qualified to help you deal with those feelings. It’s very important you know that it is natural to have those feelings, however, it is also natural to not know how to deal with those feelings.

      1. That’s good advice . I was hit head on in 2016 and suffered deep depression and loss from my injuries . In 2018 I had a near death experience,-at the same time I lost my sibling . and now I have constant anxiety and fear of death . I try not to let it affect my way of living but getting professional help is the best thing you can do for yourself . Accidents happen every single second/minute of the day . And we are all living to die . It just wasn’t your time yet and you have to keep living . I made a promise to myself that I would no longer be miserable or things that make me unhappy for any large moment of time . It’s your one and only life . Live it to the fullest . <3

  2. Exit 204B has become extremely dangerous. Drivers are trying to exit IH35 for San Marcos and are often forced to a slow speed or stopped on the very busy interstate highway. I’m a local and I’m not surprised this wreck happened. I am very nervous and cautious when traveling this area.

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