UPDATE 8:30 p.m.br />
A fifth person has died from injuries received in the Saturday morning crash in Magnolia that left four people dead on the scene. The last to perish was transported to an area hospital where she later died, according to DPS officials.
The deceased have been identified as:
Kayla Pratorius, 18, of Magnolia, TX
Curtis Edwards, 78 of Pinehurst TX
Donald Sexton, 60, of College Station, TX
Lloyd Edwards, 83, of Selena OK
Catherine Edwards, 83, of Selena OK
College Station resident Carla Sexton, 59, was the only surviving occupant of the van.
The Cobalt’s driver was identified as 22-year-old Brandon Ferguson of Magnolia, who remains in Hermann Hospital in Houston where he was flown by air ambulance.
Original report / video:
4 dead, 3 critical after crash
January 10, 2009
By Jamie Nash
WEST MONTGOMERY COUNTY- Trooper Winson Pham said in his five years with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the quadruple fatal crash that occurred Saturday morning in Magnolia was the worst he’d seen.
A mini van burst into flames after it was t-boned by a Chevy Cobalt passenger car on SH 249 at Patridge Circle around 11:45 a.m.
Three men died inside the van and two women were ejected and seriously injured, Pham said. The female victims were transported by ground ambulance to area hospitals.
An 18-yea-old female passenger in the Cobalt was pronounced dead on the scene and the car’s male driver was flown by PHI Air Ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston in critical condition.
Pham said witnesses stated the Cobalt was traveling northbound on SH 249 at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and if the driver of the mini van saw the car approaching, there was nothing he could do.
“He had no time to react and they collided,” Pham said.
The trooper would not speculate about whether the Cobalt might have been involved in street racing at the time of the crash, saying the incident was “still under investigation.”
Nearby resident, and Good Samaritan, Harold Hill heard the impact of the collision and looked out his window then ran over to the crash site to see if he could help.
“The van had a small fire up under it, so I went and got my fire extinguisher and by the time I got over it was out, so I figured the fire was going to be over with,” Hill said. “People were trying to get the other people out of the van, then all of a sudden the van just goes up and I emptied my fire extinguisher on it, but it was so hot and big it couldn’t touch it.”
None of the names were released on the scene pending identification and notification of next of kin, but Pham said those in the van, which was registered in Oklahoma, were believed to be members of the same family. He also said at least two of the deceased victims were elderly.
