NEWS
Fatality accident leads to citizens’ safety petition to TxDOT
The Wise County Commissioner’s Court approved a resolution Monday calling on the Texas Department of Transportation to identify and complete immediate safety improvements at and near the vicinity of an intersection of U.S. 81/287 and County Road 2395. A citizen’s petition seeking changes also is being circulated.
This was the site of a fatality accident on March 9 that took the life of Jeffrey Taylor, 44, Sunset. The Wise County Messenger reported Taylor was killed when his 2022 FM Sierra pickup struck the utility trailer of a 202 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck driven by Singh Loveprett, Ozone Park, NY. Taylor’s truck hit the tractor-trailer rig at the crossover near CR 2395, just south of the restaurant Punjabi Dhabba.
This recent wreck has further heightened safety concerns expressed by local residents. Quint Burks, pastor of New Vision Ministries, which sits adjacent to the highway crossover, told the Messenger staff this area has always been an issue, but added since the restaurant and truck stop were built north of the crossover it has gotten more dangerous with many near misses. Burks said the truck traffic is causing congestion and with limited visibility at the hill of the highway this is seen as a problem spot by local residents.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation told the Messenger staff the wreck is under investigation and depending on the outcome TxDOT will perform a traffic and engineering study of the location to determine if additional safety measures are needed.
The county resolution states this area has been “an ongoing hazard, especially related to commercial truck traffic.” The court and community would like to have the area studied and improved to prevent future deaths, injuries and accidents.
That March 9 fatality wreck resulted in a petition and a public outcry for changes at the entrances and exits of the truck stop. It had more than 2,000 signatures earlier this week reported the Messenger.
Taylor’s funeral service was on march 17 at Crossroads Church in Decatur. He was born in Houston to Raymond and Judy Taylor and graduated from Spring Woods High in 1997. He graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown with a degree in business in 2001. Taylor operated his own audio, video and lighting production company, Taylor Pro Audio, which worked with churches, businesses and events across Texas and surrounding states. Taylor also acted as operations manager for Petra Coatings.
The 44-year-old and his wife Sara made their home in the Sunset area, with their children Callum and Evan. His parents Raymond and Judy Taylor reside in Alvord along with other family members.
| Event: | Flash Flood Warning |
| Effective: | 05:14 PM CST on 11/03/2024 |
| Expires: | 08:15 PM CST on 11/03/2024 |
| Alert: | FFWFWD The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for… Western Cooke County in north central Texas… Southeastern Montague County in north central Texas… * Until 815 PM CST. * At 514 PM CST, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. HAZARD…Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE…Radar. IMPACT…Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low lying areas. * Some locations that will experience flash flooding include… Gainesville, Muenster, St. Jo, Lindsay, Lake Muenster, Hubert H Moss Lake, Prairie Point, Leo, Myra, Hood, Rosston, Marysville, Bulcher, Forestburg, Era, Capps Corner, Mallard and Sivells Bend. |
| Instructions: | Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. |
| Target Area: | Cooke, TX; Montague, TX |
Three people were transported to the hospital and one treated at the scene after this accident on Tuesday evening on State Highway 59 North.
The Department of Public Safety reported the crash occurred at Hwy. 59 near mile marker 22 at 4:49 p.m.
A 2003 Ford SUV driven by a 16-year-old minor from Dallas was traveling north on Hwy. 59 and a 2019 Ford F250 towing a trailer driven by Filadelfo Monzo, 60, Blue Mount, was traveling south.
The report states while traveling up a hillcrest, the SUV failed to drive in a single lane and drove onto the southbound shoulder. The driver overcorrected back to the northbound shoulder and again into the southbound lane of travel. The SUV struck the truck head on. The accident investigation is ongoing.
The driver of the SUV, plus the passengers that included a nine-year-old and 14-year-old, both from Dallas, were all transported to Nocona General Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries. The minors names were not released by the DPS. A passenger in the truck was treated on scene, but not transported. The driver was not injured.
As the final day of early voting came to an end Friday Montague County voters had a record-breaking turnout topping 51% of registered voters through Thursday.
Nov. 5 is expected to be one of the biggest elections in years, so many may be avoiding election day crowds. Voters should be prepared for longer lines on the busy election day.
Elections Administrator Ginger Wall said as of Friday morning everything has run pretty smoothly with 8,072 voters casting early ballots through Thursday. There are 15,654 registered voters in the county.
Early voting ended on Friday and Wall said she was expecting it could hit 80% total turnout. When asked if she had any reminders for voters on election day, Wall said do not wear political shirts, hats or other items that support a candidate or issue.
“Anything like that is considered electioneering and it is illegal by law within 100 feet of the polling location. The clerks asked one man to go turn his T-shirt inside out and he refused and got mad. This is just a friendly reminder we are just following the rules,” said Wall.
Election day voting will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: Montague County Annex Community Room, 11339 State Hwy. 59N, Montague; Bowie Senior Citizen Center, 501 Pelham St; Bowie Public Library, 301 Walnut St.; Nocona H.J. Justin Building, 102 Clay St.: Tales ‘N’ Trails Museum, 1522 E. U.S. Hwy. 82; Saint Jo Civic Center, 101 E Boggess St.; Forestburg Community Center, 16617 FM 455; Sunset City Hall, 119 FM 1749; Ringgold Fire Hall, 17832 N. U.S. Hwy. 81 and Valley View Baptist Church, 6159 FM 103, Spanish Fort.
To see a sample ballot visit the county website at co.montague.tx.us, click the elections tab. Remember Montague County has county-wide voting where voters can cast their ballots at any of the precinct locations.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
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