Texas CEO and his 2 children were among 4 killed in wreck before Thanksgiving

ROUND MOUNTAIN, Texas (AP) — The CEO of a construction company and his two young children were among four people killed the day before Thanksgiving in a three-vehicle crash that was still being investigated Monday.

Zach Muckleroy, 44, head of Fort Worth-based Muckleroy & Falls, died in the Nov. 22 crash about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Austin along with his 12-year-old son Judson and 9-year-old daughter Lindsay, according to media reports.

University Christian Church in Fort Worth said in a message to members that Muckleroy’s wife, Lauren, survived the accident and was airlifted to an Austin hospital, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Hundreds of people attended a vigil at the church Friday night, according to WFAA-TV.

A Facebook post from Muckleroy & Falls said Zach Muckleroy “treasured his family.”

“Zach had a charisma about him and the uncanny ability to light up any room he walked into,” the company said in the post.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has not yet released the names of those killed in the Nov. 22 crash. DPS said a truck traveling northbound on U.S. 281 crossed into the southbound lanes and struck an SUV driven by a woman with a man and two children as passengers. A car driven by a woman traveling behind the SUV then struck the SUV and rolled.

DPS said the male passenger and two juveniles in the SUV were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. DPS said on Monday that it wasn’t yet known why the truck crossed into oncoming traffic.

In 2020, Zach Muckleroy took over as CEO of the company founded by his father. Muckleroy, who graduated from TCU in Fort Worth with a degree in accounting and finance, was a walk-on for the school’s football team in 1998, according to the Star-Telegram.