Tonight just after 7pm a major accident was reported on FM 1488 at Horseshoe Bend. MCHD and Magnolia Fire Department responded to the scene as did Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to assist with traffic control until DPS was able to respond from an accident they were currently working.
What started out as a vehicle striking an eight point buck ended in a chain reaction accident with four additional vehicles involved.
One of the two eastbound lanes were occupied by wreckers and vehicles involved in the accident. Also the eastbound shoulder had vehicle parked. The wreckers which were many had lights going as did the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy and the Fire Department.
Even with all this vehicles traveling through the accident scene were running at the posted speed limit if not faster forcing the deputy, standing in the middle lane with his safety vest and flashlight to try to slow vehicles down. Also in the center lane was another vehicle with lights going parked at the deer. The deputy was actually having to work extra hard to slow these vehicles including the one that decided to occupy the center lane almost one-quarter mile before the scene to turn left just past the scene.
During the almost one hour there there were just a handful of vehicles that slowed below the posted speed limit. If DPS and MCSO had been just east of the scene running radar they could have paid for a shift of deputies working across the county for the number of tickets they could have written.
Just a little over two years ago Stanley Schultz was killed on FM3083 by a woman who went around marked patrol units on an accident scene as he finished cleaning debris off the roadway from the accident that he had just loaded the vehicle on.
On March 16, 2008 Wayne Tullos, a wrecker owner in East Montgomery County was struck by a drunk driver on the scene of an accident on FM1314.
On September 1, 2003, over seven years ago, the State of Texas passed a law requiring motorists to slow down or move over for emergency vehicleson the sideof the roadway with lights going.
The law is as follows:
SB 193 requires drivers nearing a stopped emergency vehicle that has lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer, to: Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle, if the highway has two or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency vehicle; or
Slow to a speed not more than 20 miles per hour (mph) less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or more; or Slow to a speed not more than five mph when the posted speed limit is less than 25 mph. A violation is a punishable by a maximum fine of $200. If the violation results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to $500. If the violation results in bodily injury, the offense is enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor.
Comments are closed.