A Seymour, Texas man is standing trial this week on two counts of manslaughter for a December 2023 head-on crash on U.S. Highway 82 that killed two Lubbock residents. Prosecutors say Tanner Wayne Gillispie, 31, was driving his pickup truck eastbound when it crossed into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with a westbound Toyota Prius. The Prius’s driver, Anthony Rodriguez, 34, and passenger Kimberly Perez, 31, both of Lubbock, were pronounced dead at the scene. Gillispie was hospitalized with non-incapacitating injuries. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
According to EverythingLubbock.com, testimony began Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in the 50th District Courtroom in Knox County, where the case was moved after a venue change, with Judge Juanita Pavlick presiding. KCBD News reported that Texas Department of Public Safety troopers investigated the crash, which occurred just after 6:20 p.m. on U.S. Highway 82 about four miles west of Seymour in Baylor County, and that authorities have not said why Gillispie’s pickup crossed into the oncoming lane. Both outlets note the case remained under investigation for more than a year and a half before a Baylor County grand jury indicted Gillispie in July 2025. The trial underscores how a single lane departure on a rural two-lane highway can prove fatal for the occupants of an oncoming vehicle.
