Cause of fatal Wednesday crash still unknown

Investigators still are trying to determine the cause of a crash on Interstate 55 that killed a Texas trucker known as "Possum."

James D. Holloway, 56, of Corsicana, Texas, was killed Wednesday when the tractor-trailer he was driving ran off the road, crashed through a guardrail, plunged down a steep embankment and caught fire in a wooded area just south of mile marker 97.2 on southbound I-55, Cape Girardeau police reported.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton pronounced Holloway dead at the scene.

James "Possom" Holloway

Holloway's body later was positively identified through dental records, Clifton said Thursday.

No one else was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, he said.

Stacy Pyeatt, who identified herself as Holloway's daughter, said in an email Thursday that the father of five -- known to other truckers by the handle "Possum" -- had been a truck driver for almost 30 years.

Pyeatt described her father as a fun-loving man whose five grandchildren adored him.

"He loved joking around and having fun -- always teasing us kids and grandkids," she said. "His favorite joke is calling us every year on our birthday and asking us if our card came in the mail. So we would say, 'What card?' and he would say our AARP card. Every year, every one of us."

Pyeatt said Holloway enjoyed being on the water when he wasn't driving.

"He has a love of the ocean and spent as much time on a boat as he could," she said.

Clifton said family members told him Holloway had taken a long nap shortly before the crash.

"Those guys who [drive] all the time are pretty doggone good at it," he said. "Especially if he's well-rested, fatigue should not have been a part of it."

Holloway had no known medical conditions, but an autopsy scheduled for Saturday could reveal whether he experienced a sudden medical crisis, such as a heart attack or stroke, that might have led to the crash, Clifton said.

Police closed I-55 immediately after the crash. Both southbound lanes remained closed for more than an hour, and the right lane remained closed well into the evening Wednesday, with police closing and reopening the left lane intermittently as emergency workers moved the tractor-trailer back onto the roadway.

Cape Girardeau police spokesman Darin Hickey said the cause of the crash remained under investigation Thursday afternoon.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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