Woman, girl die in head-on collision

FATALITY ACCIDENT – A firefighter sprays water on a vehicle that caught fire Monday morning near Anton. The accident, which involved two vehicles, claimed the lives of an Anton woman and her granddaughter. It is under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Photo courtesy Joe Gonzales)
Patricia Mendez, 62, and eight-year-old Ava Lucia McWhirter died at the scene.
The driver of the other vehicle, 51-year-old Jeffrey Howard of Wolfforth, was flown by helicopter to University Medical Center in Lubbock.
He was in satisfactory condition after the wreck.
The accident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. on U.S. Highway 84, about a mile east of Anton.
The Shallowater Police Department received a 911 phone call about a vehicle headed west at a high rate of speed on the wrong side of U.S. Highway 84.