Witness statement provides details about crash that killed mother, son in South Lubbock

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - No charges have yet been filed after a crash that killed a mother and her young son in South Lubbock last year.

The Texas Department of Transportation has now released their report about the crash that happened at 114th & Indiana back on Aug. 31, 2022.

44-year-old Joni Smith and her son, 9-year-old Conrad Thomlinson were both killed in the crash. Two other children survived with serious injuries.

The report includes a witness statement and a diagram of what happened in the collision.

The witness told police she stopped at the intersection while driving south on Indiana because the light was red, and saw the pickup, driven by 31-year-old Jordan Merchant, also headed south, not stop at the red light. That’s when the pickup struck Smith’s car, which was turning to go west on 114th.

The pickup ended up in a field and the car came to rest in the southbound lanes of Indiana.

We requested this police report at the time of the crash, but the city appealed our request to the state attorney general’s office, which ruled that it should be released to us.

We’re told this case has been referred to the district attorney, but no charges have been filed at this time.

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