EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Around 5:20 a.m. on Saturday, emergency crews responded to a one-vehicle crash on FM 1485 at Forest Dr. in the Peach Creek area of New Caney. A nearby resident heard the crash and called 911.
According to Trooper McGilbery, a 1998 Dodge pickup was westbound on FM 1485 when the driver, apparently, dozed off. The truck veered across the eastbound lanes and struck the large metal pole supporting the caution lights at that intersection. The impact was so tremendous that it ripped the front part of the truck, including the cab, from the frame, and the engine and transmission were ejected from the wreckage.
Firefighters initially feared there were multiple fatalities, with some possibly children, because of two child safety seats and several toys amidst the wreckage. However, only the deceased driver was trapped in the twisted metal, requiring extensive extrication by the New Caney Fire Department. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control.
Scotty Joseph Lofton, 37 of Crosby was pronounced dead on the scene at 5:30 a.m. Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace James Metts conducted an inquest and ordered and autopsy.
The road was closed for almost three hours while troopers worked the scene.
Family members told McGilbery that Lofton was a bartender who often drove his customers home.
