ZAVALA COUNTY, TEXAS — The Texas Department of Public Safety identified two men killed in a crash on U.S. Highway 83 in Zavala County on Wednesday morning. Louis Perez III and Isaiah Louis Peres were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities responded to the crash around 6:45 a.m. on U.S. Highway 83 about two miles south of La Pryor. Perez was driving a Chevrolet vehicle northbound with Peres in the passenger seat when the vehicle crossed onto the opposite side of the road.

Perez's vehicle collided with a 1999 Freightliner semitrailer that was heading southbound. The driver of the semitrailer was taken to a hospital in Uvalde and later released.

A second crash occurred around 8 a.m. on FM 1025 after traffic was diverted from U.S. Highway 83, according to a Zavala County Sheriff's Office statement. Two vehicles collided just after 8 a.m. along FM 1025 on the way to Batesville. One driver sustained serious injuries in that collision and was taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported in the second crash.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is the agency responsible for identifying the victims of the initial crash on U.S. Highway 83. Perez was driving northbound when his vehicle left its lane and entered oncoming traffic, where it struck the southbound semitrailer. Both Perez and Peres were pronounced dead at the scene. The semitrailer driver, who was taken to a Uvalde hospital, was later released. The Zavala County Sheriff's Office reported the secondary crash on FM 1025 separately, noting that the collision occurred as a result of traffic being redirected from the original crash site on U.S. Highway 83.