A man who leapt to his death from a tractor-trailer rig Tuesday before it nearly struck a freeway column was trying to stage a wreck to file a fraudulent insurance claim, Houston police said.

Investigators said they believe Paul Wayne Guillory and another man hatched the plan, but things went wrong when Guillory hit his head on the pavement of the feeder road near North Loop 610 and the Eastex Freeway.

The 26-year-old man died instantly.

The other man allegedly involved in the plan was following Guillory in a sport utility vehicle. The Houston Police Department has not released the name of the man, who is being considered a person of interest in the case.

He called the police about 2 a.m. to report the accident, saying he ran after the white Volvo truck as it slowly rolled along the street, climbed into the cab and stopped it.

A logo on the truck read Front Line Transportation Services. An address listed to the business produced a post office box at a UPS store in north Houston and a disconnected business phone number.

Guillory’s family said they could not believe that the newly wed father could be involved in such a crime.

Ashley Guillory, 24, had seen her brother on Monday, and in recalling their last conversation could not find a clue that he was planning to stage an accident, as police believe.

"He would never do anything like that," said Ashley Guillory. "He was a loving brother and he really cared about his family … he spoiled his daughter."

Guillory threw a grand party for his daughter’s first birthday a couple months ago and was close to his wife, whom he married last December, according to Ashley Guillory. She said she did not think he would do anything to jeopardize them.

Guillory had worked as a trucker for years, seemed to enjoy it and was making good money at it, according to his mother.

"He tried to have nice things for his family," said Geneva Guillory, who last saw him two weeks ago when he dropped in on his way to work. "He said ‘OK, Mama I’m in a hurry,’ and I said, ‘OK baby, I love you.’ "

Neither she nor Guillory’s sister had heard of the man police were calling his business partner.

The Texas Department of Insurance deals with cases of fraud fairly regularly, according to a 2008 report published by the group, but staged accidents make up only 2 percent of all discovered fraud.

"It’s quite a small slice of the pie," said agency spokesman Jerry Hagins. "But we do see it from time to time, and it’s costly for consumers."

Nationally, all insurance fraud accounts for $150 billion annually, which breaks down to about $1,000 per family in increased premiums and added costs to consumer goods, according to the agency.

shaminder.dulai@chron.com

dale.lezon@chron.com