Two injured in head on
Polk County Enterprise - December 2007

Two women were flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston following a head-on collision at 4:28 p.m. on Wednesday.

A 1999 Mercury Sable driven by Chaz Allen Lewis, 17, of Goodrich was westbound on FM 1988 when Lewis said he swerved to miss something in the road, according to DPS reports.

Lewis’ vehicle collided head-on with a 2004 Volvo XL70 driven by Gretchen Boerner Goertz, 44, of Houston.

Goertz and a passenger, Mary Parrish Bell of Livingston, were taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Memorial Hermann with unspecified injuries.

Lewis was charged with driving without a license and failure to drive in a single marked lane.

Several Polk County residents sustained varying degrees of injury following a head-on collision just before dawn on Nov. 24.

Marguerite Small Burks, 44, of Onalaska was westbound on FM 3278 in a 1999 Ford Taurus when she failed to drive in a single marked lane. Burks overcorrected to the left and entered the eastbound lane striking the front end of a 2004 Suzuki Forenza driven by Ruby Detrajewel Jefferson, 27, of Corrigan.


Burks, Jefferson, and two passengers in Jefferson’s vehicle, Haley Holt, 18, of Livingston and Elexicux Coleman, 25, of Corrigan were all taken via lifeflight to Memorial Medical Center-Livingston.

Two other passengers in Jefferson’s vehicle, Renada Petties, 24, of Livingston and Coleman Britney Whitaker, 19, of Corrigan were both taken by ambulance to Cleveland Memorial.

Jefferson was charged with driving while license invalid – first offense. Burks was charged with failure to drive in a single marked lane.