R-A-I-N spells trouble for area motorists

Car halted by cable barrier on Interstate 45. Van’Go’photo While the recent rains were certainly welcomed by farmers and home-owners, it appears that local motorists have forgotten how to adjust their speed for wet road conditions.

Heavy rains came through the area on Sunday afternoon, and a car ended up against a tree on FM 831. DPS Trooper Seymore worked the accident, but no other details of the accident were available as of press time.

Monday afternoon’s sudden thunderstorm resulted in a single-vehicle accident two miles north of Buffalo on I-45. A late-model four-door sedan was northbound and lost control on the rain-slick highway, coming to rest against the cable barrier facing southward. Fortunately neither the driver nor passenger was injured. The newly-erected barrier may have saved the vehicle from crossing the median and possibly being involved in a much more dangerous headon collision.

The barrier also came into play on Friday morning, July 17, when a 1992 pickup driven by an Arlington teenager lost control 1.4 miles north of Centerville on I-45. Jefferie Kent (19), driving too fast for the road conditions, slid off the left side of northbound I-45 and struck the cable barrier in the median. The young man was uninjured.

An Oakwood man escaped injury in another accident later Friday morning. Wayne Beasley (85) was driving a 2010 Toyota pickup and stopped at the intersection of CR 224 and Highway 79. Failing to yield right of way, Beasley pulled onto the highway and struck the left back quarter of a flatbed trailer being towed by a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup. The driver of the Dodge, Randy Smith (48) of Shreveport, was taken to Palestine Regional Hospital with possible injuries.