Texans are dying on state highways every day — especially in rural “dead zones”

Ronnie Robison calls the Woodland Heights Medical Center to tell workers at the Lufkin facility to prepare for a patient on Friday. Robison has to call before reaching an area with no cell service to be able to warn the trauma team. (Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune)

GROVETON — Among the tall pine trees of Davy Crockett National Forest sits a stretch of road David Robison calls “the dead zone.”

There is no cellphone service for miles, and there are few signs of civilization on this remote section of highway. It lacks safety precautions like shoulders or guardrails that are ubiquitous on more urban highways.