By Art Lawler
The Athens Review
MURCHISON — Two people were injured Wednesday when a pickup truck driven by a 13-year-old boy attempted to drive across U.S. Highway 175, only to be struck by a west-bound motorist.
The child was taken to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler by Emergency Medical Services. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Sixty-four year-old Robert Barnes, driving a purple 1998 Volvo, was air-flighted to East Texas Medical Center Tyler, where his injuries were believed to be more serious.
A nurse at ETMC reported late Thursday that he had just been removed from ICU, and was listed in stable condition.
According to DPS patrol officer Brad Fulton, the child’s older brother, Alexis Duran, 19, was cited for allowing an underaged child to drive a motor vehicle without a license.
Duran explained to police that he allowed his brother to take his red 2006 Dodge Ram half-ton pickup to the nearby ranch.
The 13-year--old was headed north on Farm-to-Market road 1803, and pulled across the west-bound median onto the center medium.
However, instead of yielding to west-bound traffic at the yield sign, Officer Fulton said the child pulled onto U.S. Highway 175, attempting to get onto County Road 3622 to continue north on the other side of the highway.
The collision, according to the DPS report, forced the truck to turn over on its left side and top, before coming to a rest off the southside of State Highway 31 on its top side, facing southwest.
The Volvo was forced off the roadway, hitting a pole with its left front. The car came to a rest facing east-bound on the south side of SH 31 about two miles east of Murchison.
Barnes had to be extricated from his vehicle.
Firefighters from the Brownsboro Volunteer Fire Department helped rescue Barnes, and members of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department assisted with traffic control.
Barnes said both east-bound lanes were closed for a time, and traffic was stalled for about two miles, all the way back to Murchison, the report stated.
