Motor vehicle wrecks occurred across the county Thursday, one of which resulted in two deaths.
A collision on state Hwy. 7 at the county line east of Martinsville, left two Shelby County men dead and another man with serious injuries.
Andrew Rogers/The Daily Sentinel |
Firefighters work to free a man trapped in his 18-wheeler after it went off the road on Hwy. 259 near the intersection of Hwy. 59 on Thursday afternoon.
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Michele Marcotte/The Daily Sentinel |
Rescue crews attempt to extract a Shelby County man from the back seat of a Chevrolet Cavalier. According to the DPS, the Cavalier hydroplaned into the westbound lane, striking an oncoming Dodge pickup. The collision resulted in two deaths, and a Shelby County man was injured.
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Carlton Thomas Patton, 57, and Darrell Keith Williams, 57, both died at the scene, and Kendrick Rolland, 27, of Center was taken to Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. Rolland was listed in fair condition with internal injuries late Thursday, according to Department of Public Safety reports.
Shortly after 12:30 p.m., a red 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Rolland, was traveling eastbound on state Hwy. 7 east of Martinsville when the vehicle hydroplaned into the westbound lane of traffic and struck an oncoming 2006 Dodge Ram 1500.
"The car turned sideways and came right in front of me before I could stop," said Eric Mortimer, the driver of the Dodge pickup.
As he watched crews of rescue workers from the Shelby County Volunteer Fire Department, the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department, EMS and DPS work on the scene, Mortimer continued to say that he had been on his way to Nacogdoches for a doctor's appointment when the accident occurred.
"They just came around curve," he said, shaking his head.
Both of the deceased men were taken to Laird Funeral Home in Nacogdoches. Justice of the Peace David Perkins performed the death inquest at the accident scene.
North of the city, another accident resulted in a truck driver being trapped inside the cab of his 18-wheeler for nearly two hours.
At about 11 a.m., an 18-wheeler westbound on U.S. Hwy. 259 at the U.S. Hwy. 59 intersection, hydroplaned off the roadway and rolled over down a 20-foot embankment landing on the drivers side, according to officials at the scene.
More than a dozen firefighters from the Appleby Volunteer Fire Department and Nacogdoches Fire Department worked to free him using the jaws of life to cut the man out of the vehicle before he was finally pulled up the embankment and into an awaiting ambulance.
The man was taken to Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital where he was treated for injuries.
A caged green parrot was also rescued from the accident and taken to the Nacogdoches Animal Shelter.
DPS officers and workers from the Texas Department of Transportation diverted westbound traffic along Hwy. 259 into the eastbound lanes while wreckers pulled the 18-wheeler back onto the highway.
According to DPS, the truck was registered out of Jacksonville, Fla.
Several other accidents were reported in the south part of town, including one near the intersection of Stallings Drive and Durst Street in which a woman slid off the road, causing her tire to fall off the vehicle, as well as a minor, multiple car accident on South Street.
