KTBB News, Weather, Talk

ANDREWS — Tyler James, ETBU graduate and former Graduate Assistant Coach for the men’s and women’s golf team was killed in a vehicle accident that claimed the lives of eight others on Tuesday night. According to our news partner KETK, a van driving the University of the Southwest’s golf team collided with a Dodge 2500 truck while they were headed home from a tournament in Midland. According to DPS, for unknown reasons the Dodge truck drove into oncoming traffic and hit the passenger van head-on. Reports say both vehicles caught fire and burned. James received his Master of Science in Kinesiology and graduated from ETBU in May 2021. Continue reading Former ETBU golf coach killed in USW van crash remembered by community

TYLER — Part of Smith County Road 192, also known as Old Noonday Road, will be closed to through traffic Thursday and Friday, March 17-18, for the installation of drainage culverts. The road will be closed between CR 193 (Taylor Road) and West Grande Boulevard. The culverts are being installed to provide improved drainage along CR 192 and for the Cooper Estates Subdivision, according to a news release. Alternative detours include taking CR 193 to Texas Highway 155, then proceeding to Grande Boulevard.

TYLER — The Tyler Sister Cities organization is helping out with the situation in Ukraine. Details were announced at a Wednesday news conference featuring Tyler Mayor Don Warren and Mayor Jerzy Łużniak of Tyler’s sister city Jelenia Góra, Poland. Officials say Jelenia Góra’s Sister Cities organization is assisting its sister city in Ukraine, as well as providing aid and sheltering refugees arriving in Poland — 2,000 of them in Jelenia Góra alone, according to information shared at the news conference. The Tyler Sister Cities organization is raising funds to assist Jelenia Gora with its humanitarian efforts. All donations made through Tyler Sister Cities will be wired directly to Jelenia Góra for aiding the Ukrainian people, according to Tyler officials. Continue reading Tyler Sister Cities aiding Ukraine

CHEROKEE COUNTY — The first days of a murder trial in Cherokee County resulted in a mistrial on Monday after an investigator reportedly failed to disclose a piece of digital evidence to all parties in the trial. According to our news partner KETK, Cody Ray Roberts is charged with capital murder of 18-year-old Trevor Lawson, who was found dead by an apparent gunshot wound in a home on CR 2117 in the Maydelle area on November 7, 2018. Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson said the trial for the murder of Lawson began in the 369th District Court on Monday. A jury was picked and the state began calling witnesses on Tuesday. Continue reading Mistrial declared in Cherokee County murder case

TYLER – A Tyler man originally charged with murder in a 2020 shooting after a fight at a party pleaded down to a lesser charge on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, 23-year-old Tommy Pettigrew was charged with killing 39-year-old Christopher Bolden outside after a fight between them at Pettigrew’s house. Pettigrew agreed to a plea deal that dropped the charge down to criminally negligent homicide, which normally carries a maximum jail time of just two years. However, because a deadly weapon was used, it is punished as a third-degree felony, which bumps the maximum sentence to 10 years under Texas law. That’s the sentence handed to Pettigrew as part of the plea deal.

LONGVIEW — Longview police have arrested two suspects in a recent carjacking. On March 12 at about 2:28 p.m., officers were dispatched to a location on West Loop 281. A man told them he had left his 15- and 12-year-old children in his vehicle while he was making a purchase in a store. The children came inside and told their father two men had threatened to shoot them if they did not get out of the vehicle. The children did get out, and the two men drove away. Officers were able to track the vehicle to a Princess Street location, where they found 19-year-old Juan Gonzalez and 18-year-old Jonathan Coto, both from Longview. The two were charged with aggravated robbery.

TYLER — Tyler police have identified the suspect in a fatal hit and run February 19. They identify her as Chatiryn Akerra Butler, 18, of Tyler. Police have obtained an arrest warrant on Butler (pictured) for accident involving death, a 2nd degree felony with a $100,000 bond. The victim was 30-year-old Kelsey Hise in the incident around 7:30 p.m. on North Broadway near Queen Street. If you have any information on Butler’s whereabouts, contact the Tyler Police Department at 903-531-1000 or call Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at 903-597-2833.

TYLER — Encouraging trends continue on the latest NET Health COVID-19 dashboard. Among other things, NET Health’s George Roberts points out that the Tyler hospital patient number is down to 47 from 78 last Thursday. Roberts continues urging everyone to get vaccinated, noting that it’s not clear when another variant might become an issue. He says officials continue to monitor the BA-2 and deltacron variants, though neither is prompting any serious worries at this point. For more information on COVID-19 in East Texas, click here.

TYLER — Smith County Road 289, south of Chapel Hill, will be closed to through traffic beginning Wednesday, March 16, for the replacement of an existing bridge. County officials say residents and businesses on CR 289 will have access north of the bridge from Texas Highway 64 and south of the bridge from CR 285 (Old Omen Road). According to a news release, CR 289, also known as Wolfe Lane, will see a new, wider concrete bridge with railing constructed. The bridge project is part of a federal program administered by TxDOT. Continue reading Smith County Road 289 to close Wednesday for bridge construction

LONGVIEW — On Wednesday, March 16, Page Road in Longview between Delia Drive and Lois Lane will be closed to through traffic for the day. In the afternoon, Page Road will be opened to one lane of traffic eastbound. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes. Officials say the project consists of street improvements for the new Hallsville Elementary School. The lane closure is anticipated to last months. If you have any questions related to construction, call the city’s project manager, Zack Shaner, at 903-237-1321.

TYLER — Contractors will be doing asphalt seal work on New Copeland Road between East Grande Boulevard and Loop 323 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 through Tuesday, March 22. Drivers can expect lane closures and traffic delays. Drive with caution in the area.

TYLER – A Tyler woman employed as a nighttime nurse for a nonverbal, immobile special needs child is accused of treating the child like “a rag doll,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by our news partner KETK. 35-year-old Jessica Fowler is charged with injury to a child, a third-degree felony in Texas, and has posted a $200,000 bond since being arrested last week. According to the arrest warrant, the child who suffered from multiple medical conditions which required constant and sensitive care. If convicted, Fowler faces up to 10 years in prison.

HENDERSON – Rusk County Commissioners have lifted the county’s burn ban, though they encourage people to use “extreme caution” for outside fires. According to our news partner KETK, the burn ban had been active since March 3, prohibiting all outdoor burning in unincorporated areas of the county. Though the actual ban is lifted, people can still be cited for a fire that gets out of control and damages neighboring property or causes injury. Continue reading Rusk County burn ban lifted

TYLER — The search is over for a suspect in the shooting of two 13-year-old girls around 8 o’clock Saturday night in North Tyler. Tyler police reported Monday that 17-year-old Jaqualin Xavier Humphrey of Tyler turned himself in to members of the U.S. Marshal’s Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force. He was arrested and booked into Smith County Jail on five warrants for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to our news partner KETK, investigators on the scene, after multiple interviews with witnesses, identified Humphrey as the suspected gunman. Police reports say the two girls were passengers in a car with several other juveniles when they were shot. Detectives said the girls were in stable condition.

TYLER — It’s another busy week for roadwork in TxDOT’s Tyler District. In Smith County, Tyler Maintenance will have a base failure crew on FM 3226. A second crew will be performing ditch work on various roadways throughout the county. Both projects will be under one-way traffic worked by flaggers. In Gregg County, maintenance crews will be continuing mill and inlay operations on FM 2204 westbound, from the US 259 Bypass to west of Greenhills Rd. Flaggers will be controlling traffic there as well. Crews will then start edging operations on FM 449 with traffic controlled by flaggers and a pilot car. Continue reading TxDOT’s weekly roadwork update