September 4, 2017 - State Highway 7 just under a mile and a half from Joaquin just before CR 3189 was the scene of a major crash Friday, September 1, 2017.
Joaquin Volunteer firemen and Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy Kurtes Lawrence responded first to the incident scene. The firemen provided traffic control at the scene and righted a boat involved in the incident which had overturned and was gushing fuel from a ruptured tank.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper John Hallenbeck, at 5:16pm a red 2016 Kia driven by Michael Thomas, 28, of Louisiana with a minor child of unknown age in a child safety seat, was eastbound on State Highway 7 East. Thomas was falling asleep when he left the roadway to the right and over corrected left causing the Kia to return to the roadway and into the westbound traffic lane.
A grey 2015 Ford F-150, hauling a Glastron boat, driven by Jack Davis, 65, of Louisiana with a 15-year-old male passenger was in the westbound traffic lane at that time as they Kia entered the westbound lane and struck the boat trailer. This caused the trailer to detach from the truck and the boat to eject from the trailer, traveling into the barrow ditch on the westbound side of the road upside down.
The trailer and the Kia came to rest in the middle of the westbound traffic lane, and Davis was able to pull the truck onto the westbound shoulder.
Davis' wife was traveling being the boat in a Lexus SUV hauling a popup camper and had an apparrent near-miss with the Kia and boat trailer.
Thomas was issued a citation for no driver's license.
