Insights

Five children, aged 2-13, died when an overloaded SUV they were traveling in crashed Monday afternoon in East Texas. At about 2 p.m. near FM 773 in Van Zandt County, twelve people were riding in a GMC Envoy traveling west on Interstate 20 when the driver lost control and slammed into a traffic sign before rolling several times. Nine people were ejected from the vehicle, including 7 children and 2 adults. The SUV did not have child safety seats. Four of the children were pronounced dead at the scene. One of three children was taken by helicopter to the Dallas…

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A single vehicle accident in Eastern Travis County Saturday night killed a man from Austin. At about 10:15 p.m., 42-year-old Benigno Castillo-Gudino of Austin was travelling north when his vehicle went off the roadway and rolled over on Dunlap Road. The Texas Department of Public Safety says Castillo-Gudino was ejected from the 2000 Ford Expedition and pronounced dead on the scene. The fatal wreck happened at about 10:15 p.m. in the 900 block of South Dunlap Road. Authorities say the roads were wet and it was clear and cloudy outside. The driver was reportedly not wearing a seat belt.

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Two people are dead in a two-vehicle accident Saturday morning near Jacksonville. The deadly accident happened when a northbound 2011 Ford pickup driven by Roland Odum swerved onto the southbound lanes and hit a northbound 2002 Lexus. According to the Jacksonville Police Department, the men driving the Lexus, 26-year old John Klueppel and 22-year old Ryan Campos, were both pronounced dead on the scene. Odum was taken to East Texas Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Jacksonville P.D. would not say if alcohol was the cause of wreck. Authorities continue investigating the cause of the accident.

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A 30-year-old motorcycle rider from Abilene was killed after he slammed head-on into an 18-wheeler Thursday morning. It was 12:40 a.m. when Justin Burleson was driving the wrong way, riding south in the northbound lane of U.S. Highway 83 about a half-mile from FM 3034. According to Abilene Police Department, Burleson’s 2009 Harley-Davidson Sportster ran into a 2005 Peterbilt hauler on an overpass. Justin Burleson was pronounced dead at the scene.  Investigators say Burleson was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the truck, 30-year-old Keenan Cooley of Hartley, was not injured. A portion of the highway was closed while…

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A man was sitting in the roadway when a motorcycle hit and killed him late Friday night. The Texas Department of Public Safety said the accident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 80 just outside of Mineola. Herbert Westly Owens, 62, was driving a 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle when it hit 35-year old Kevin Worsham, who was sitting in the roadway. Worsham was pronounced dead at the scene. Owens was transported to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler with a fractured skull, in critical condition. DPS officials say he was not wearing a helmet.

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A three vehicle wreck Thursday morning on Winchester Road claimed the life of a 70-year-old woman. The accident happened around 10:28 a.m. near the corner of Bahama Road. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was inbound on Winchester Road and crossed over the center line, sideswiping an outbound Toyota Camry. The Chevy, driven by Michael B. Mundy, of Winchester, continued inbound and crashed head-on into a Dodge Ram. The driver of the Dodge Ram, Cora Kidd, 70, of Lexington, died at the scene. Mundy and his passenger were taken to U.K. Hospital suffered non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Camry that was…

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College Park High School head football coach Richard Carson delivered some good news during the Meet the Cavaliers Night on Wednesday on the condition of the four football players involved in a rollover accident last Tuesday. “We had a tough week here,” Carson said. “The great thing is that they are going to get through it. A couple of them are here tonight. And they’re going to get better and recover from that (accident).” The teens were headed to practice in a sports utility vehicle around 6:30 a.m. when they crashed in the 18000 block of the I-45 northbound service…

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A 27-year-old singer from Houston died in a wrong way crash late Sunday in West Texas. Laura Beth Botkin, 27, was returning from a trip to the Grand Canyon and was in the backseat of a car that crashed head-on into a pickup going the wrong way.  She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the 2009 Honda, investigators said. The driver of the car, Jonathan James Runnels, and the pickup driver, identified as Jose Marmolejo Jr., were both critically injured. Police are investigating whether alcohol may have been a cause of the accident. Marmolejo had an…

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An 81-year-old woman driving the wrong way was killed on a head-on collision in North Bryan. The deadly accident occurred at around 5 p.m. Wednesday near the exit ramp for Texas Avenue. Police reports said Johnnie Dozier, 81, of Bryan, got on Highway 6 at Tabor Road in a blue Buick heading north on the southbound lane of the highway. Her vehicle was hit head on by a Nissan Altima, driven by a pregnant woman. Dozier died of injuries from the wreck. The pregnant woman was in surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan but had no serious injuries. The…

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A 40-year-old Cedar Hill man was fleeing an Upshur County sheriff's deputy when his car slammed into a concrete pillar underneath an overpass and died. The deadly crash happened at 10:48 p.m. Monday at the intersection of U.S. 271 and Texas 155. According to Gilmer Police Chief James Grunden, the Upshur County Sheriff's Office had notified city police at 10:44 p.m. that a deputy was pursuing a speeding 2000 Mercedes which was northbound toward Gilmer on south Hwy. 155, and whose occupant was throwing something out the window. A DPS Trooper laid down spikes to slow the fleeing car at…

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