Archive for the ‘Traffic Fatalities’ Category

Bastrop environmental activist dies in Saturday wreck

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A traffic accident in the city today claimed the life of a leading local activist in environmental and arts affairs.

Judy Ing died in a collision at Texas 95 and Hoffman Road Saturday morning. The vehicle she was driving was struck broadside by a pickup headed north on Texas 95 as she entered the intersection from Hoffman Road, said Police Chief David Board. Earlier in the morning she had gone to an area home to feed the cats of a couple who were out of town for the weekend, according to close friends.

The other driver involved in the mishap, whose named was not immediately available, was taken to Lakeside Hospital with injuries which were not considered life threatening, said Board.

Ing, a photographer, writer and graphic designer, was retired from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center near Smithville. For many years she was a stalwart and leader in both the Bastrop County Audubon Society chapter and the Bastrop County Environmental Network. At various times she worked with or directed periodical publications for both organizations.

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Jury takes on drunk driving death case

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A jury of nine women and three men heard opening arguments Jan. 26 in the intoxication manslaugher and intoxication assault case against a 59-year-old Cedar Creek waitress in 423rd District Court before District Judge Chris Duggan.

Susan Moore faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge. She is also eligible for probation because she has no prior felony convictions. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Tuesday.

Evidence will show that Moore had more than twice the legal blood alcohol level in her system when her vehicle slammed into an auto headed in the opposite direction shortly before 5 p.m. on Texas 71 just west of Bastrop on Sept. 20, 2007, killing an Irish tourist and severely maiming another passenger, said Assistant District Attorney Greg Gilleland in his opening statement to the jury Tuesday afternoon. The accident victims “didn’t have a chance,” he said. Moore “wasn’t driving friendly,” Gilleland added.

In his own opening statement, defense attorney Neal Pfeiffer told the jury that other evidence will show reasonable doubt that Moore’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was more than the legal limit for intoxication. “Alcohol did not cause or contribute to this accident,” he said. “(Moore) is not guilty.”

According to investigators, Moore had left her job at Hill’s Cafe in Austin about 4 p.m. on the fatal day and was driving home when the accident occurred.

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Texas 71 records 1st traffic death of 2010

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–What may have been the first highway traffic fatality of 2010 in the area took place about 4:48 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Texas 21/71 and FM 20 just west of Bastrop.

Reported dead at the scene was 47-year-old Bradley Goble who was driving east on Texas 71 when his vehicle crossed the median and struck another auto, according to a Department of Public Safety report.

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Bastrop area rail plans to be discussed Friday

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–A local transportation study group is set to hear Friday from state officials looking into the feasibility of moving heavy rail freight traffic away from cities in the area, including Bastrop and possibly Elgin.

For more than a year planners from the Texas Department of Transportation, local officials and area residents have mostly focused on needed highway improvements. Now their attention has turned to the future of rail traffic through the area.

The Friday rail session is slated for 10 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom on the second floor of the Courthouse Annex at 804 Pecan St. in Bastrop. The public is invited and a quorum of county commissioners may attend the session, said Gayle Wilhelm, an assistant to Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald.

The possibility of moving heavy rail traffic off the 1886 route through Bastrop’s old town core has raised questions about what property might be affected by a new rail alignment, possibly between the present route of FM 20 and Texas 304, areas now slated for significant commercial and residential development.

Elgin officials are also interested in regional rail plans because of the potential to convert a freight rail line from Austin to Elgin and Giddings for use by commuter trains at some time in the future.

The present rail line through Bastrop sends trains laden with coal, gravel, industrial chemicals and other agricultural and manufactured goods between the main high school campus and the West Campus or 9th Grade Center on Hill Street on a daily basis. The Union Pacific line through Bastrop is part of a main line between the Midwest and Mountain West and the port at Houston on the Gulf Coast.

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Posted in Bastrop City, Bastrop County, Local Politics, Traffic Fatalities | 4 Comments »

Child death trial nears conclusion

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–Prosecutors were trying to wrap up their case Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Christopher Murray for the June 11, 2007 death of a three-year-old in his care near Paige.

The state is not seeking the death penalty, but prosecutors allege that 26-pound, 35-inch-tall Robert “Robbie” Faske was essentially beaten to death by Murray, 30. The defense contends that the child’s injuries may have resulted from a variety of causes, none deliberate, including a fall from a tree, a later fall from a chair and an an accident in which Murray fell down a set of steep steps while carrying Faske in an attempt to get him to medical help.

Travis County Chief Medical Examiner David Dolinack testified Tuesday than an autopsy revealed more than 100 visible bruises on the child’s body in addition to severe internal injuries including bruising on the spleen, tears to the liver and small intestine and brain injuries caused by a blow to the back of the skull which fractured the bone.

Dr. James Lukefahr, a pediatrician who teaches at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and specializes in child abuse, testified Wednesday that scores of small bruises on the child’s body were likely caused by repeated blows from a closed fist, based on the pattern and size of the marks. He also said the pattern of injuries the child sustained suggests a deliberate intention to injure him.

Jury deliberations could begin Thursday. If convicted, Murray could be sentenced to a term on probation or as much as life in prison.

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Man dies in wreck near Paige

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Paige, Tx–A one-car accident late July 23 on Old Pin Oak Road a mile south of US 290 claimed the life of a 25-year-old man.

Texas Department of Public Safety investigators identified the victim as James Aaron Cabera who lived at 568 Old Pin Oak Rd. The mishap was reported at 10:25 p.m.

The auto left the roadway, hit a culvert, rolled over and ejected Cabera, according to the DPS report. The driver was not wearing a seat belt, the report indicated.

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Wreck west of Bastrop takes woman’s life Wednesday

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–A two-vehicle crash May 27 at the intersection of Texas 71 and Tucker Hill Lane west of Bastrop claimed the life of a 24-year-old woman whose last known address was in Austin. A Bastrop woman and her two-year-old daughter apparently escaped serious injury.

Dead at the scene shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday was Olana MacArthur who was driving a silver Escort which crossed into the west-bound lane of Texas 71 where it was struck by a Suburban driven by Lauren Harris of Bastrop, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety report. The DPS report suggested that MacArthur ran a stop sign on Tucker Hill Lane before the collision.
Harris and her daughter were taken to an area hospital where they were treated and released, according to the DPS report. Both drivers and the child were wearing seat belts, a DPS spokesman said.

Drugs were found in the Escort, but investigators are awaiting toxicology reports on whether MacArthur might have been intoxicated.

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Posted in Traffic Fatalities | 3 Comments »