TX TX - Jason Landry, 21, enroute from TSU to home, car found crashed at Luling, 14 Dec 2020 #2

[logical]

In college, I would routinely drive late, and take obscure backroads that I knew were a faster way. Hindsight, this was risky considering a crash happening on a not so often travelled road. I don’t question the time he left at all. It is peculiar that he would be on that road considering his purported destination.

This leads me to believe the purported destination was not correct or a planned stop somewhere in which that road made sense was happening.

 

[Onaliv]

I don't find the late night departure odd, as he may have had other plans earlier, wanted to avoid traffic or was specifically leaving to meet up with someone on the way. I will also agree, having traveled lots after moving out of state for a period, I wouldn't take any back road or off route road without intention or GPS trouble. I remember 10+ years ago I just my GPS signal, ended up in a cornfield in OH. I had to call my husband to try to map where I was and how to get back on track. Luckily, I could still make calls. MOO edited to correct spelling words

Understood, just haven’t seen much reported in the way of where he was or who he was with (or activities that would have prevented him leaving earlier) prior to leaving for the trip home. Given the circumstances, I’d think that would be pretty important - even to narrow down and confirm that he didn’t have others in the vehicle with him etc.

 

[mlhenn]

I don't find the late night departure odd, as he may have had other plans earlier, wanted to avoid traffic or was specifically leaving to meet up with someone on the way. I will also agree, having traveled lots after moving out of state for a period, I wouldn't take any back road or off route road without intention or GPS trouble. I remember 10+ years ago I just my GPS signal, ended up in a cornfield in OH. I had to call my husband to try to map where I was and how to get back on track. Luckily, I could still make calls. MOO edited to correct spelling words

I’ve had something similar happen to me as well. It was pretty late at night and I was using GPS. I knew something was off & it seemed to reroute my destination. I continued on (important to note I knew the interstate couldn’t be too far) but it ended up taking me to a pasture full of cows!
I too had to call my husband.

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

Interesting that the oil worker reported not seeing “anything”; they must have come forward after learning about the situation.

We don't know. I wondered if the oil worker might drive that route frequently and could have been stopped and questioned by LE.

 

[ElementalLaura]

Understood, just haven’t seen much reported in the way of where he was or who he was with (or activities that would have prevented him leaving earlier) prior to leaving for the trip home. Given the circumstances, I’d think that would be pretty important - even to narrow down and confirm that he didn’t have others in the vehicle with him etc.

I haven’t seen any info about his schedule that day.

 

[ElementalLaura]

I haven’t used Waze, but I can’t imagine a functioning GPS would re-route him anywhere other than a U-Turn back to the missed interstate turn.

 

[logical]

I haven’t used Waze, but I can’t imagine a functioning GPS would re-route him anywhere other than a U-Turn back to the missed interstate turn.

Would be interesting for anyone in the area to drive to the turn at salt flat road and see if they can put in any destination that would take them further up salt flat. Nav error could be a possibly, but I can’t get passed going miles down a gravel road and not thinking that road might not be a good one.

 

[Mary Ingalls]

Understood, just haven’t seen much reported in the way of where he was or who he was with (or activities that would have prevented him leaving earlier) prior to leaving for the trip home. Given the circumstances, I’d think that would be pretty important - even to narrow down and confirm that he didn’t have others in the vehicle with him etc.

d

I don't think it implies anything if you consider the source (Fox 7). They've had a lot of people comment/complain on their site how they just try to draw you in but offer nothing. It was discussed up thread that what was actually said was NOT "filled" with narcotics. I don't feel like doing a search but something like 'narcotics found'. Definitely not 'filled with'.

It worked, didn't it! Drew ya in... yet not even true. I can't find the post (I think it might have been deleted because I KNOW I saw it, yet it's not coming up using the word 'sexpert'). I'm pretty sure it was the same site (Fox 7) that had a typo of 'sexperts' when they meant experts. Can't say for sure as nothing is coming up but I remember seeing it recently on this site. It was in the Alexis Sharkey thread. Someone thought it was a typo (they had made other typos) and mentioned that site was just reduced a few notches for reliability in their mind. Personally... if it was indeed Fox 7.... I'm more apt to believe it wasn't a typo, and was on purpose, to get your attention. Just like the teaser fib of them saying "filled with narcotics" when the actual video did not say the same thing.

Yes, it sure did draw me in!

 

[MsBetsy]

Would be interesting for anyone in the area to drive to the turn at salt flat road and see if they can put in any destination that would take them further up salt flat. Nav error could be a possibly, but I can’t get passed going miles down a gravel road and not thinking that road might not be a good one.

Maybe he did realize that road wasn't a good one, and he just couldn't find a safe place to turn around. It must have been hard to see anything in the dark. Or maybe he thought if he just kept driving he would eventually end up at an intersection. Do we know where the road leads to? If it runs parallel to the main road maybe he thought there would be some way to get back to it eventually.

 

[Seattle1]

TX - TX - Jason Landry, 21, en route from TSU to home, car found crashed at Luling, 14 Dec 2020

For a screenshot of the actual DPS police report from Fox-7 news video, see the link above.

 

[allboys]

We don't know. I wondered if the oil worker might drive that route frequently and could have been stopped and questioned by LE.

I suppose it's possible that the oil worker's vehicle/plate was picked up on a camera somewhere, which led LE to question him about what he saw/didn't see along his traveled route that particular evening.

 

[happyday]

Maybe he did realize that road wasn't a good one, and he just couldn't find a safe place to turn around. It must have been hard to see anything in the dark. Or maybe he thought if he just kept driving he would eventually end up at an intersection. Do we know where the road leads to? If it runs parallel to the main road maybe he thought there would be some way to get back to it eventually.

Google Maps

Here is a map of Salt Flat Rd. The pin is in the 2300 block where we believe the wreck was. If you zoom out, you can see how he came in to Luling from the west on 80 and should have turned right on 80 in town to go south to get to IH 10. But he didn’t turn and went across and the road curves up to go north turning into Salt Flat (128). As you can see Salt Flat goes north to the middle of nowhere and doesn’t connect to anything that would turn all the way back south where he needed to be.

Basically he was going in the complete opposite direction and really far for that matter. (On gravel.)He could have literally stopped in the middle of the road and have done a 20 point turn. No one would be coming.

This has been a sticking point for me that there was no good reason for him to be where he was. It’s hard for me to believe he accidentally went that far, but if he was a dedicated Waze user and it led him wrong, then I can see maybe he just kept trusting it?

 

[GMS]

I went back and watched reports from the accident scene - there are images that show the tires tracks leaving the gravel road - they don't appear to be of a car swerving or locking the brakes up to avoid another car or animal. The car traveled a good distance before impacting the trees. On the surface, it appears that maybe he nodded off and awoke to realize he had left the road, panicked and overcorrected to gain control. If he was tired and/or impaired in some fashion, would this also help explain why he missed the turn earlier. He was approximately 24 miles into the trip at the intersection and then roughly another 6 miles up Salt Flat Road before the accident - not that far into the approximate 165 mile drive home. I know this doesn't explain what happened after the accident, but I think the events that led up to the accident will give us a better understanding of what may have happened.

 

[cluciano63]

If I heard about an unusual crash on a road I had used the same night I would let police know the time I had driven by the area and that nothing was amiss at that time. I do not find that unusual, if that is what happened.

 

[JrTex]

Google Maps

Here is a map of Salt Flat Rd. The pin is in the 2300 block where we believe the wreck was. If you zoom out, you can see how he came in to Luling from the west on 80 and should have turned right on 80 in town to go south to get to IH 10. But he didn’t turn and went across and the road curves up to go north turning into Salt Flat (128). As you can see Salt Flat goes north to the middle of nowhere and doesn’t connect to anything that would turn all the way back south where he needed to be.

Basically he was going in the complete opposite direction and really far for that matter. (On gravel.)He could have literally stopped in the middle of the road and have done a 20 point turn. No one would be coming.

This has been a sticking point for me that there was no good reason for him to be where he was. It’s hard for me to believe he accidentally went that far, but if he was a dedicated Waze user and it led him wrong, then I can see maybe he just kept trusting it?

That's a long long way to travel the wrong direction. I really don't think he relied on WAZE for what is essentially a 1 turn trip all the way from San Marcos to Houston. There's 1 turn and it is in town at a lighted intersection. Miss it? Maybe .. hardly.. but OK, miss it and you go across the intersection and turn around. You don't drive 6 miles down a gravel road in the wrong direction. Waze is messed up sometimes but not that messed up. This is precisely why I don't think he drove the car there.

 

[crhedBngr]

Following.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

This young man is most likely in one of those many ponds near the crash site, imo. He's likely floating by now. I hope the family can find people with drones to repeatedly check those ponds.

 

[Seattle1]

BBM - I think the only comment I have about this is LE tend to try and locate the owner of the vehicle if it looks wrecked or out of place or a hazard. I'm not an officer but I have LE ties, and it's not common to see a wrecked out vehicle like JL's and think "oh well" and carry on about your night. Extra especially at the location. They may not jump to foul play or worst case scenario - but it would likely be towed (or tagged if in a non-hazardous location like off the roadway) if LE came across it without any concerned calls.

From earlier news reports, it appears that JL's vehicle was found crashed and abandoned in a ditch somewhere near 2365 Salt Flat Road, Luling, Tx. Reportedly, the TX Dept of Public Service (DPS) was contacted by a passerby about the abandoned vehicle late Sunday evening, Dec 13, and DPS prepared a report on this date. While it's been reported that JL's family was notified about the vehicle on the early morning of Dec 15, it's unknown exactly what date and time the vehicle was towed to the storage and/or impound location as seen on the news.

However, according to a Caldwell County Sheriff's Sgt., vehicles are frequently abandoned in remote areas such as Salt Flats Road:

Caldwell County Sheriff’s Sgt. William Miller told CrimeOnline that investigators were not immediately concerned about Landry’s safety just after the discovery of his vehicle, because of how frequently police receive reports of abandoned cars in the remote area of central Texas.

“That happens all the time,” Miller said. Much more often than not, the owner will reclaim the vehicle after a day or two, having left it to seek help for car trouble, or in some cases, because they got into a DUI crash and did not want to call police to the scene. Miller reiterated earlier police statements that there is no indication alcohol or drugs contributed to Landry’s wreck.

Late last week, Miller said, Texas DPS turned over the missing persons investigation to the Caldwell County Sheriff’s office, while DPS focuses on the crash investigation.

12/22/2020

Missing Texas State student Jason Landry’s abandoned car did not cause immediate concern; police work to overcome early investigative delays

 

[Rosiebones]

If he missed the right hand turn at the intersection and went straight through the intersection, WAZE or Garmin or any other GPS would have immediately started trying to reroute him back the way he came. "Recalculating" is one of the most irritating comments. But, he continues, ignoring the GPS, until he is on a gravel road and instead of going slowly, looking for a place to do a u-turn or a driveway to turn around in, he is going a a high rate of speed so he spins out and hits a couple of trees broadside. Makes no sense to me. MOO MOO MOO

 

[Onaliv]

That's a long long way to travel the wrong direction. I really don't think he relied on WAZE for what is essentially a 1 turn trip all the way from San Marcos to Houston. There's 1 turn and it is in town at a lighted intersection. Miss it? Maybe .. hardly.. but OK, miss it and you go across the intersection and turn around. You don't drive 6 miles down a gravel road in the wrong direction. Waze is messed up sometimes but not that messed up. This is precisely why I don't think he drove the car there.

I have reservations as well about who actually drove/left the car there too. If something happened to Jason earlier that day, the person(s) responsible may have staged the “he wrecked his car and wandered away in the night” scene to deflect from what may have really happened. The cellphone being left inside the car, keys in ignition with doors locked, backpack nearby with wallet to identify it as his including “narcotics” just seem odd when put all together. Was the blood found confirmed as Jason’s and was it indicative of a major or minor injury? With the broken glass could it have been from someone involved in arranging the towing? This may have been answered, just not sure. I remain hopeful that my opinion/speculation here ends up wrong and he’s found safely recovering in someone’s farmhouse like in the movies, but am also hopeful that LE is really investigating his last known whereabouts and who he was known to be around.