(January 09, 2009)—Heavy traffic on the two lane highway to China Spring is being identified as a factor in a wreck Thursday that left one man dead.

Waco police say the driver of a 2003 Cadillac lost control of his car when he fell asleep at the wheel and collided with a Ford Taurus driven by 78-year-old James Foley.

Foley later died of injuries from the accident that occurred just before 7:00 a.m. Thursday.

China Spring Highway (FM 1637) was shut down until the accident was cleared, backing up traffic for several miles right at the peak of morning rush hour.

Residents who work and live along China Spring Highway say accidents have become a common occurrence on the severely congested highway.

The Texas Department of Transportation has announced an expansion of the one-lane road; construction however is not slated to begin until 2012.

Thursday’s Accident

A heavily traveled Farm-To-Market road was closed as rescue crews cleared the scene of a major accident that sent two drivers to the hospital during Thursday morning’s commute.

The head-on collision occurred just before 7:00 a.m. in the 1100 block of China Spring Highway just north of the Waco Municipal Airport.

Traffic headed south was backed up over a mile as Waco Police Officers diverted both north and south bound lanes into the ditches around the accident.

Both vehicles involved in the accident were mid-sized sedans.

Crews with Waco Fire Department were called to extricate one of the drivers from his vehicle.

Both drivers were taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center by ETMC ambulance.

There were no other passengers in either vehicle.

Rescue crews were in the process of clearing the wreckage by 8:00 a.m.