When a truck collides with a smaller vehicle, the consequences are often devastating. Five individuals, including a grandmother and her three young grandchildren, were killed in a recent head-on collision between a Volkswagen and an oncoming dump truck.

The truck accident occurred on a Texas farm-to-market road last Saturday. When the vehicles collided head-on, the dump truck struck the Volkswagen and the momentum of the truck carried both vehicles forward, dragging the Volkswagen several hundred feet. At this point, both vehicles burst into flames. All four occupants of the Volkswagen, as well as the driver of the truck, were killed in the crash.

The collision could not have been more heart wrenching. The Volkswagen was being led by another vehicle containing family members of the victims. Authorities called the accident a "worst case scenario," as the occupants of the lead vehicle were the parents of the children in the struck car. Similarly, the driver of the truck was being followed by his own wife, who was able to talk to him for a few moments before his death. Tragically, the truck driver was not able to escape the vehicle before it burst into flames.

Investigators are questioning how the tragic accident could have possibly happened. Some reports indicate the Volkswagen may have drifted across the centerline. With no surviving drivers or passengers, it is difficult to ascertain the exact sequence of events. Authorities conducting the investigation of the fatal accident believe that speed may have been a factor. All of the people involved in the collision were wearing seat belts or secured in child safety seats.

Source: NewsWest9.com, "Five Killed in Head-On Crash in Andrews County," Geena Martinez, 2/5/2011