Del Rio couple killed in Alabama tractor-trailer crash, authorities say

Two Del Rio residents were killed when a 2019 Kenworth tractor-trailer left Interstate 59 and struck a tree near Fosters, Alabama, turning a highway wreck far from Val Verde County into a local loss for one Texas family.

Alabama State Troopers identified the victims as Jerry C. Ketterer, 71, and Marci A. Ketterer, 68. Both lived in Del Rio, and both were pronounced dead at the scene after the single-vehicle crash in Tuscaloosa County on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

The crash happened on a major freight and travel corridor, Interstate 59, which carries heavy long-distance traffic through west Alabama. Authorities said the tractor-trailer left the roadway and hit a tree, but they have not said what caused the rig to veer off the interstate. The wreck remains under investigation.

For Del Rio, the names matter as much as the location. Jerry and Marci Ketterer were not just victims in a distant crash report; they were local residents whose deaths now reach back to family, friends and neighbors at home. No memorial schedule, family statement or funeral information was included in the reports released so far.

The incident was also notable because it involved a tractor-trailer rather than a passenger vehicle, underscoring how quickly a single-vehicle crash on a high-speed corridor can become fatal. With the cause still undetermined, the known facts are stark: one truck, one tree, two Del Rio residents lost on an Alabama interstate.