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2 killed in San Marcos crash involving dump truck were driving home from Austin event

Police said the truck hit a passenger vehicle from behind, killing both of its occupants.

SAN MARCOS, Texas — Editor's note: The attached video is related to a San Marcos explosion that also occurred overnight.

The two people who were killed Thursday morning in a crash involving a dump truck and another vehicle in San Marcos have been identified.

Officials said they were called to the 204B exit of southbound Interstate 35 around 2:45 a.m., along with police, the fire department and EMS. 

According to the City of San Marcos, the passenger vehicle was struck from behind by the dump truck. The driver of the passenger vehicle – identified as 29-year-old Orlando Valdez – was pronounced dead on the scene, while the passenger later – identified as 21-year-old Dana Watson – died at the hospital. 

Valdez is a Corpus Christi resident, and Watson is from Orange Grove, the City of San Marcos said. Police believe the two were traveling home from an event in Austin.

The driver of the truck, Isaac Fettig of Spencer, Tennessee, was transported to Ascension Seton Hospital in Kyle with minor injuries.

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Preliminary investigation suggests the passenger vehicle either stopped or was going slow in the far-right lane when the dump truck collided with it. 

The exit was shut down for several hours and I-35 southbound was shut down for about an hour while investigators worked the scene.

The San Marcos Police Department is still investigating the crash.

These are the ninth and tenth traffic fatalities in San Marcos through 2019.

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