Wells man killed in morning wreck with transport shuttle
Second wreck involving another shuttle near same intersection leaves no injuries to group home members
By SAMANTHA JOHNSON
The Lufkin Daily News
Thursday, May 29, 2008
LUFKIN — A Wells man died Wednesday after being injured in one of two separate wrecks involving shuttle buses from different agencies that occurred near the same intersection in Lufkin.
 Ashley Cook/The Lufkin Daily News The elderly driver of a gold Dodge pickup suffered critical head and chest wounds Wednesday morning after being struck by a Salvation Army Adult Day Center shuttle at Loop 287 and Sayers Street west of the Ellen Trout Zoo.  Ashley Cook/The Lufkin Daily News Lufkin Police Officer David Walker, left, Lufkin Fire Department member Steve Reeves, center, and Officer Trent Burfine, second from right, work the scene of an accident as a bystander looks on Wednesday morning at Sayers and Loop 287 west of the Ellen Trout Zoo. |
Richard Burke, 78, died about two hours after the first accident, in which his pickup collided with a Salvation Army Adult Day shuttle around 8:30 a.m., said Lufkin Police Lt. David Young. Burke's wife, a passenger in the truck, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.
Shuttle driver Wilma Williams, of Lufkin, seemed shaken at the scene and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries. The two shuttle passengers were not believed to have been injured, Young said.
The shuttle crossed Loop 287 inbound at Sayers Street, striking Burke's gold Dodge Ram 1500 on the bed of the driver's side. The impact caused the truck to spin and knock down a highway light pole. The large pole landed on the driver's door, crushing it, Young said.
Burke suffered severe head and chest injuries, according to Officer Trent Burfine. Emergency responders used a pneumatic device to open the pickup door to remove Burke. The shuttle's bumper was torn off and the front end seriously damaged.
The truck came to rest in the dirt off the shoulder. Officer Toby Stanaland, investigating the accident, said the shuttle driver apparently didn't see Burke's oncoming truck.
Following the accident, the eastbound portion of Loop 287 and Sayers Street was closed. By mid-day, both lanes were reopened.
No charges have been filed in the wreck, Young said. The investigation is ongoing until a prosecutor reviews the case.
In the second accident, just after 2 p.m., a Burke Center shuttle carrying 12 members of a group home in Nacogdoches sideswiped a tractor-trailer while merging onto Ellen Trout Drive from Loop 287 near the U.S. 69 interchange, police said.
No one was injured in the accident. The shuttle lost a rear tire.
"Everyone's OK, just nervous. No one's hurt and that's a blessing," said the shuttle driver, who asked not to be identified.
The large truck was from Oakley Trucking Inc., of Little Rock. The group home clients were transferred to another shuttle to continue their return trip to Nacogdoches.
Staff writers Ashley Cook and Jessica Savage contributed to this story.
