A husband and wife from Arlington were killed Saturday night, September 5, 2026, in a chain-reaction crash involving five vehicles on State Highway 171 near County Road 4223, between Hillsboro and Cleburne, Texas. Zachary Barton, 39, and Katie Barton, 39, both worked for the United States Bowling Congress at the International Bowling Campus in Arlington and were remembered by friends and colleagues in the bowling community. A 12-year-old passenger riding in one of the vehicles was critically injured and hospitalized. The driver of the vehicle involved in the initial collision, who authorities suspect may have been intoxicated, was also hospitalized.

According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, the crash began when a northbound Ford Fiesta passed a pickup truck and, upon returning to its lane, struck equipment being towed by a farm tractor, scattering debris across the roadway. A southbound Chevrolet Traverse and Ford F-150 then struck the debris, and the Bartons and the child riding in the Traverse got out of their vehicles before being struck by another vehicle. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating and said alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the initial collision. No charges had been filed as of the latest reports.