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Conroe Car Accident Kills Three

According to an ABC news report, on Friday, October 16, 2009, at around 10:15 a.m. a major car accident occurred in Conroe, Texas at the intersection of FM 1314 (Porter Road) and Loop 336. Apparently a Mazda was traveling northbound on FM 1314 when a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck traveling east on Loop 336 ran a red light where the roads intersected. The Dodge pickup truck struck the side of the Mazda and pushed it into a Mercedes in the westbound lane of 336 waiting to turn onto FM 1314. A fourth vehicle was involved in the accident when the Mercedes was pushed into it. According to the police, witnesses say that the driver of the Dodge pickup truck, 18 year old Casey McKinley, was traveling at a high rate of speed.

The dead are identified as Splendora, Texas residents: Craig Rector, 50, his daughter, Felicia Hicks, 20, and her husband, Freedom Fitch, 24. Hicks and Fitch have a two year old daughter, Anabelle, who was not with them at the time of the automobile crash. McKinley, the driver of the Dodge pickup truck and the driver of one of the other vehicles were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. McKinley was arrested and charged with three counts of manslaughter.

According to the 2008 Texas Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics, there were 16 deaths and 387 serious injuries in Conroe. In Montgomery County, as whole, there were 67 fatalities and 1,779 serious injuries involving car accidents in 2008.

What a tragedy! I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Craig Rector, Felicia Hicks and Freedom Fitch. This needless and senseless accident did not have to happen. It has caused endless pain and misery for those involved. Young Annabelle is now an orphan and will have to be reared by family and friends of the deceased. Casey McKinley is facing criminal prosecution. Aside from having to answer to the law, he will have to live with the events of this day for the rest of his life. The community, as a whole, and the families of those involved have suffered a terrible loss.