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November 11, 2021 - State Highway 7 West, just under one mile from FM 711 was the scene of a single-vehicle crash involving a tree Thursday, November 11, 2021.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 7:15pm a white 2019 Honda Civic driven by Makayla Marie Marino, 21, of Edinburgh was eastbound on State Highway 7 when for an unknown reason failed to maintain a single lane and exited the roadway to the right where the vehicle spun around and struck a tree on the driver's side.
Marino and her passenger, whose identity was unknown to authorities at the time of incident, were transported by ambulance to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for treatment of possible injury.
The crash remains under investigation. Shelby County Sheriff's Department deputies assisted at the scene.
November 15, 2021 - The intersection of U.S. Highway 96 North and FM 2026 was the scene of a two-vehicle crash Thursday, November 11, 2021.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Taylor Buster, at 12:50pm a maroon 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Donna Nayfa-Bowden, 56, of Tenaha was stopped in the inside northbound lane of U.S. Highway 96 North preparing to turn left onto FM 2026 (Folsom Chapel Road). At that time a maroon 2014 Honda CR-V driven by Betty McLeod, 86, of Beaumont was also northbound in the inside lane and failed to control speed striking the rear of the Jeep causing damage to both vehicles.
The Jeep came to rest in the outside southbound traffic lane facing west and the McLeod eventually was able to bring the Honda to a stop approximately 250 ft. from the point of collision.
Emergency medical services personnel were on scene; however, no one involved in the crash was transported by ambulance.
McLeod was issued a citation for failure to control speed.
The Center Fire Department and Shelby County Sheriff's Department assisted at the scene with traffic control. Trooper Buster was assisted at the scene by DPS Trooper Dustin Ramos.
According to Texas Department of Transportation crash statistics, since 2011 there have been 26 crashes at the location involved in Thursday's incident involving 57 units and 89 people.
November 9, 2021 - Alvin Davis II, 30, of Center had several cases to face in court which recently had varying outcomes, some of which were due to complications with available evidence.
According to court documents, the case against Davis for possession of a controlled substance was heard in the 123rd Judicial District Court before Judge Leann Kay Rafferty. Representing the state was Lynda K. Russell, 123rd Judicial Assistant District Attorney, and representing Davis was Clay Thomas.
Davis pleaded guilty to the May 14, 2018 offense of possession of a controlled substance, 3rd degree felony, and when sentence was imposed on October 4, 2021, received eight years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division to run concurrently with a 2015 charge of evading arrest, and a 2016 charge of assault causing bodily injury - family violence, for which Davis received 10 years for each of those charges. Davis also had 1,675 days credit for time served.
In conjunction with Davis' plea, the state dismissed the capital murder by terroristic threat case against Davis relating to the death of Brakia Rashed Roland in 2018, an aggravated sexual assault case, as well as a case for burglary of a building. The state also would decline a pending case of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and aggravated robbery.
The District Attorney's office indicates there were evidentiary problems that couldn't be overcome regarding the murder case. "In the event further evidence is produced or educed, we'll be more than happy to pursue it," said Karren Price, 123rd District Attorney.
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November 5, 2021 - The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is proud to announce that its Crime Laboratory Division laboratories have been recognized for voluntarily adopting national forensic standards published by the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC), created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The DPS laboratories have been recognized by NIST as OSAC Implementers.
DPS labs voluntarily underwent the process to ensure the state’s labs are held to the highest national forensic standards. The adoption of these standards provides an additional measure of confidence in the work the labs perform.
To adopt published standards, DPS incorporated best practices and standard protocols into its own management and quality system, following the leading industry applications in fields including biology/DNA, digital evidence, fire debris, firearms and toolmarks, footwear and tire impressions, gunshot residue analysis, trace evidence, toxicology and seized drugs.
DPS now holds 14 of the 62 certificates OSAC has issued to laboratories in the United States for implementing its standards. The OSAC standards are developed by more than 500 members of the forensic community to provide minimum requirements to ensure the results of forensic analysis can be relied upon by the criminal justice community.
DPS has been reviewing published forensic standards since 2020 to evaluate compliance and has actively updated policies and practices to align with them. New standards continue to be published to the OSAC registry on a regular basis and are reviewed by the DPS labs.
DPS’ Crime Laboratory Division currently employs 621 people at 16 locations statewide.
November 4, 2021 - A high-speed pursuit which began in the Shelbyville area came to a safe resolution outside of Center November 4, 2021.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies engaged an individual in the pursuit around 1pm when the driver of a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu failed to stop in the area of FM 139.
As the pursuit entered Center, Center Police Department officers joined in the chase which traveled to the square and then turned down State Highway 7 (SH7) East.
As the Chevrolet reached Oaklawn Memorial Park Cemetery, the vehicle turned around and headed back west on SH7. Just before the intersection with Loop 500 the driver finally complied and the pursuit was brought to an end without incident.
During inventory of the vehicle, a blue bat was discovered and taken into evidence which potentially involved in a previous criminal mischief.
The female driver was promptly taken into custody and transported to the Shelby County Jail for processing.
According to the Shelby County Jail log Zania Hubbard, 21, of Shelbyville was arrested November 4, 2021, and charged with evading arrest/detention with vehicle, felony 3.
November 5, 2021 - It was late in the afternoon when Isaac Simmons got the call. A vehicle was broken down along a stretch of I-45 in Fairfield, and Simmons, a 35-year-old tow truck driver headed out to help.
While winching the car onto his tow truck, the routine stop suddenly became horrific. A speeding car careened off the road, rolled up the tow truck’s sliding bed and flew through the air. The airborne car slammed into Simmons. Two days later he died, making him one of more than 3,200 people who have been killed on Texas roads so far in 2021.
“He was one of the best men I’ve ever known. He always wanted to make everybody smile,” said Nathan Bryant, a fellow tow truck driver who considered Simmons a brother. “Sometimes it can be a little dicey out there because nobody moves over, nobody slows down. They don’t care about human life on the side of the road.”
This November 7, Texas marks 21 years of daily deaths on our roadways with more than 75,000 innocent lives lost to preventable fatal crashes. For the past several years, about 10 people have died every day in crashes in the state. During the height of the pandemic when traffic dropped nearly 50%, the death rate climbed to more than 11 a day, shocking state transportation leaders.
Texas Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan, a champion for road safety and TxDOT’s #EndTheStreakTX campaign, said every Texan must do their part. And while the goal of ending the deadly streak is ambitious, Ryan said, it is far from impossible.
“We stick with it. We keep telling the story. We fight back when people say personal responsibility is not a thing. It is. And we don’t give up,” Ryan said. “I am hopeful that it will happen sooner than later, but I am confident that it will happen.”
Most crashes and fatalities are preventable and caused by things such as speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving. That’s why the approach to reaching zero deaths must be through what TxDOT calls the 3 E’s – engineering, education, and enforcement. That way, everyone has a responsibility to keep our roads and fellow drivers safe.
Because #EndTheStreakTX is a social media, grassroots and word-of-mouth effort, Texans are being asked to do any or all the following to raise awareness:
- Make the best and safest decisions behind the wheel and encourage others to do the same.
- Share personal stories on social media of loved ones who have been lost in a crash and use the hashtag #EndTheStreakTX.
- Follow @txdot social media pages and share the content we post.
For media inquiries, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or call (936) 633-4395.
November 3, 2021 - State Highway 7 East and Loop 500 was the scene of a major two-vehicle collision Wednesday, November 3, 2021.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene of the crash at around 5pm and when they arrived a brown 2013 Toyota Avalon had serious damage to the front end and remained in the outer westbound traffic lane.
Another vehicle involved, a grey 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was pulled a short distance away from the crash scene and parked on the shoulder.
The driver of the Toyota was transported by ambulance to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for medical evaluation.
Additional details are not yet available at this time, and once available will be included with this report.
November 3, 2021 - State Highway 87 South was the scene of a single-vehicle crash just outside of Shelbyville Wednesday, November 3, 2021, during rainy conditions.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) State Trooper Grace, at 3:48pm a black 2006 Toyota Tundra driven by Shanika Morris, of Shelbyville was northbound on State Highway 87 just past CR 2050. At that time it appeared she entered the curve in the roadway at a rate of speed too high for roadway conditions.
The Toyota lost traction and left the roadway in a side skid before traveling backward where the rear of the truck collided with a tree.
Morris was transported by emergency medical services to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for treatment of possible injury.
Trooper Grace was assisted at the scene by DPS Trooper David Shields.
No citations were issued at the time of the crash, and the crash remains under investigation.
Officers with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, Center Police Department and Jamie Hagler, Shelby County Constable Precinct 2, also assisted with traffic control until the vehicle was removed from the roadway.
November 3, 2021 - The unofficial results for the November 2nd Constitutional Amendment Election for eight State of Texas Propositions are in! All propositions passed locally as well as statewide. Locally, the narrowest margin between 'For' and 'Against' was on Proposition 2 with a difference of just 37 votes.
To view the state results, visit Texas Secretary of State Elections Division online.
Total Ballots Case - 1,108
Election Day Ballots - 866
State of Texas Proposition 1 - "The constitutional amendment authorizing the professional sports team charitable foundations of organizations sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or the Women's Professional Rodeo Association to conduct charitable raffles at rodeo venues."
For - 936 (85.71%)
Against - 156 (14.29%)
State of Texas Proposition 2 - "The constitutional amendment authorizing a county to finance the development or redevelopment of transportation or infrastructure in unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted areas in the county."
For - 565 (51.69%)
Against - 528 (48.31%)
State of Texas Proposition 3 - "The constitutional amendment to prohibit this state or a political subdivision of this state from prohibiting or limiting religious services of religious organizations."
For - 925 (83.79%)
Against - 179 (16.21%)
State of Texas Proposition 4 - "The constitutional amendment charging the eligibility requirements for a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals, a justice of a court of appeals, and a district judge."
For - 656 (61.31%)
Against - 414 (38.69)%
State of Texas Proposition 5 - "The constitutional amendment providing additional powers to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct with respect to candidates for judicial office."
For - 720 (67.35)%
Against - 349 (32.65)%
State of Texas Proposition 6 - "The constitutional amendment establishing a right for residents of certain facilities to designate an essential caregiver for in-person visitation."
For - 987 (89.97)%
Against - 110 (10.03)%
State of Texas Proposition 7 - "The constitutional amendment to allow the surviving spouse of a person who is disabled to receive a limitation on the school district ad valorem taxes or the spouse's residence homestead if the spouse is 55 years of age or older at the time of the person's death."
For - 979 (89.32)%
Against - 117 (10.68)%
State of Texas Proposition 8 - "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty."
For - 992 (90.26)%
Against - 107 (9.74)%
*The Election Results are unofficial until they have been canvassed by the Shelby County Commissioners Court.
November 2, 2021 - State Highway 7 East was the scene of a two-vehicle crash just west of CR 3187 at 2:45pm on Monday, November 1, 2021.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Dustin Ramos, a white 2008 Ford Explorer pickup truck driven by Sandra Mahan, 62, of Center was eastbound on State Highway 7 East when she pulled onto the shoulder due to debris in the roadway.
Mahan attempted to make a u-turn from the shoulder and turned when unsafe into the path of a white 2008 Chevrolet van owned by Wilmore Snacks and driven by Tony Smith, 64, of Shreveport, La. causing the van to collide with the driver's side of the Explorer. The van came to rest on the eastbound side of the roadway and the Explorer came to rest on the westbound side.
Smith was transported by emergency medical services to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Mahan was issued a citation for turn when unsafe.
Assisting Texas DPS at the scene was the Joaquin Volunteer Fire Department, Shelby County Sheriff's Department.
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