Posted 11:57 pm Monday, December 21, 2009
32-Year Old Gilmer Man Dies In 2- Vehicle Accident
BY PHILLIP WILLIAMS
Special Correspondent
GILMER -- A 32-year-old Gilmer man was killed when his vehicle was struck by another car at an intersection before slamming into a tree on Farm-to-Market Road 852 near Gilmer Sunday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Special Correspondent
GILMER -- A 32-year-old Gilmer man was killed when his vehicle was struck by another car at an intersection before slamming into a tree on Farm-to-Market Road 852 near Gilmer Sunday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Eric Dwight Watson was pronounced dead at the scene by Upshur County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace W.V. Ray.
Driver of the other vehicle, 32-year-old Raul Hernandez, of Gilmer, was uninjured in the 12:33 p.m. crash, DPS officials said.
Watson's 1998 Chevrolet Camaro and Hernandez's 2000 Oldsmobile Aledo collided at the intersection of 852 and Machen Lane about a mile west of Gilmer, according to information from the DPS and Ray.
Watson, westbound on 852, topped a knoll at the intersection of the county road, where the car driven by Hernandez entered the intersection from Watson's right and struck the Camaro, authorities said. After the impact, Ray said, Watson's car traveled about 75 yards, sideswiped a small tree on the roadway's left side, and apparently turned sideways before wrapping around a nearby sweetgum tree.
It appeared Watson was driving at a high rate of speed, Ray said, who added he saw no indication alcohol was involved. It was unknown whether the victim, whose body was extricated from the wreckage by the Gilmer Fire Department, was wearing a seat belt.
"I've never seen a car torn up like that in my life," said Ray, who has been a justice of the peace in the county for about 29 years. He told the
Tyler Morning Telegraph
that the wreckage was "just a pile of junk. You couldn't tell anything about" the vehicle.
that the wreckage was "just a pile of junk. You couldn't tell anything about" the vehicle.
Ray also said the motor was knocked out of Hernandez's vehicle.
The judge said he pronounced the victim dead at 1:15 p.m. and ordered an autopsy.
DPS Trooper Chris Callaway investigated the crash. The body was taken to Croley Funeral Home in Gilmer.
