Shelby County Today

April 23, 2015 - Two vehicles collided at what has proved over the years to be a dangerous intersection on U.S. 96 North Tuesday.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 1pm a maroon 2006 Ford Fusion 4-door owned and operated by Dory Alexander Hill, 65, of Tenaha was traveling northbound on U.S. 96 behind a white 2002 Chrysler Town & Country driven by Candy Vianey, 26, of Center.

As Vianey was turning left onto FM 2026 (Folsom Chapel Road) Hill failed to control the speed of her vehicle and collided with the rear of the Town & Country. The Fusion remained in the middle of the highway and the Town & Country pulled into the old Williams Propane parking lot.

Center Police officers Bobby Walker and Sgt. Duane Gordon, as well as Center firemen arrived at the scene to assist with traffic control.

ACE EMS responded to the scene. Vianey and her 3-year-old passenger were transported from the scene to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Center Emergency Department for treatment. Hill refused treatment at the scene.

Hill was issued a citation for failure to control speed and Vianey was issued a citation for no driver's license.

Betty Mooney, a passerby at the scene, has property near the intersection and she has seen many vehicle crashes at the same location, under the same circumstances.

"They're coming so fast down that hill and then when one tries to jump over [from the inside lane] there's nowhere to go. I own this property right here I wish it was closer, I would have given the state the right-of-way for a turning lane," said Mooney.

Mooney explained her son had a crash further up the roadway toward the top of the hill and she believes the problem is travelers are going too fast and the speed is set too high, which at this time is 60mph. The greatest concern for Mooney is young inexperienced drivers who may be unable to make a quick decision to help prevent a crash and more importantly save their lives.

"I would like to say that this intersection is extremely dangerous. Going north toward Tenaha you are leaving the city limit sign [for Center] and going into a 60mph speed zone, where you're accelerating pretty fast coming downhill and making a left-hand turn onto Folsom Chapel (FM 2026) from 96 North, if you have someone behind you most of the time they don't have enough time to slow down due to already accelerating," said Mooney.

Mooney explains the two options available to drivers are not very safe and given the proper formula could cause a serious crash like what she says she has seen before.

"If they're able to stop they're probably going to slam on their brakes and they could hit you, otherwise if there's somebody on the other side of them [in the outside lane] they can't get over, so you could cause an accident that way and I've seen that happen also. I have deemed this intersection as a death trap."

According to information provided to Shelby County Today by the Texas Department of Transportation in relation to reportable motor vehicle traffic crashes related to the intersection of U.S. Highway 96 and FM 2026 from 2010-2015 there have been 16 crashes.