Area crashes with semis kill 4
San Jacinto Newstimes - October 2007

SHEPHERD – The eighth traffic fatality of the year in San Jacinto County was recorded Oct. 9 when a Houston man was killed on Hwy. 59 in Shepherd.

Frankie Divins, 50 was killed instantly when an 18-wheel tractor pulling a semi trailer pulled out of the parking lot at Champions Truck Stop, failing to yield the right-of-way, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Tamela Snider.

According to the DPS report, Divins was driving a pickup truck south bound on Hwy. 59 when an 18-wheeler driven by Ben William Smith, 60, of Nashville, Tennessee, pulled out in front of Divins, disregarding an official traffic control device that said, “Do Not Enter,” and pulled out across the south bound land of Hwy. 59. Divins struck the tractor-trailer in the left side, going under the trailer. The tractor-trailer continued forward coming to rest facing east in the crossover.

Smith was not injured in the incident. No charges have been filed at this time, according to the report.

In a separate accident, three Shepherd residents were killed in an early morning accident on Hwy. 59 at FM 2665 in Goodrich about 12:24 a.m. on Oct. 12.

A pickup driven by Francisco Gonzalez, 48, was westbound on FM 2665 when the driver failed to stop at the intersection with Hwy. 59.

An 18-wheeler driven by John Doherty of Conroe struck the pickup at the driver’s door killing three of the four occupants, according to Texas Department of Public Safety.

Gonzalez, Sherry Beebe, 18, and Phyllis Martin, 42, all of Shepherd was pronounced dead at the scene by Polk County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace David G. Johnson.

A fourth passenger, Robert Rogers, 46, of Shepherd was taken via LifeFlight helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston with serious injuries.

DPS Troopers Brent D. Henry, Sgt. David S. Gustafson and Glen Goodwin are continuing to investigate the crash.