Today is
Tuesday June 09, 2026
NACOGDOCHES COUNTY – One man was killed and another is in critical condition after an 18-wheeler wreck in Nacogdoches County early Tuesday morning. According to our news partner KETK, an 18-wheeler transporting timber was driving behind a 2004 pickup truck on HWY 103, roughly five miles west of Etoile. Investigators believe the pickup truck “made an unsafe turn†in front of the 18-wheeler and it was hit in the driver’s side. Read the rest of this entry »
HOUSTON — There is blowback to the state’s newly passed election bill, based on a measure initially authored by East Texas state Senator Bryan Hughes. Senate Bill 7 offers protections for poll watchers, limits polling places, and adds restrictions to those assisting voters. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says it doesn’t have to become law. Hidalgo says, “It is not too late, and it is time for leaders in all communities — but particularly in this community, which is being singled out by these bills — to stand up against voter suppression.” That’s in response to Harris County making voting easier last year during the pandemic. This bill would, for example, outlaw drive- through voting and 24-hour polling places. Hidalgo says this new bill is based on the lie that the 2020 election was somehow stolen.
TYLER — A Tyler man is dead after a crash on Toll 49 Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, the crash occurred on Toll 49 between Paluxy and Broadway around 4 p.m. The preliminary DPS report indicates that the driver of a 1998 Kawasaki motorcycle and the driver of a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado, were both traveling westbound on Toll 49. The driver of the Chevrolet made an illegal U-turn, causing the motorcycle to strike the side of the truck. The driver of the motorcycle was identified as Christopher Lee Eickenhorst, 40. Eickenhorst was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was identified as Jamal Russell, 30, of Jacksonville. Russell was not injured in the crash. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Newly obtained court documents reveal that the former CHRISTUS nurse accused of killing three patients has been indicted for a fourth murder. According to our news partner KETK, William George Davis, 37, was arrested back in 2018 and charged with capital murder of multiple persons along with five counts of aggravated assault. The original indictment for capital murder from nearly three years ago listed Christopher Greenway, John Lafferty, and Ronald Clark as victims. They died between June 2017 and August 2017. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN (AP) – Texas would allow people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it, under a measure approved by the state Senate on Wednesday. The bill was authored by State Representative Matt Schaefer, of Tyler. Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun license holders. State lawmakers have gradually reduced classroom and training instruction needed to get one over the last decade. The bill pushed by the Legislature’s Republican majority would eliminate the handgun license requirement despite objections from law enforcement.
TYLER — UT Health East Texas Physicians opened a COVID-19 Recovery Clinic Monday at UT Health North Campus Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the clinic is designed to treat patients who continue to experience lingering symptoms. Some still have issues like brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste and other symptoms. The clinic has a multidisciplinary team that will screen, assess, treat and provide referrals for patients who continue to experience negative health effects. Read the rest of this entry »
JACKSONVILLE – A Jacksonville man was sentenced Thursday to 78 months in federal prison for meth charges. According to our news partner KETK, Andres Gallegos, 38, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13, 2020 to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. Court documents show that an investigation into drug trafficking in Smith and Cherokee counties revealed in October 2018 that Gallegos “regularly sold methamphetamine from his residence in Jacksonville.†Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The brother of a six-year-old child that died after they were found unresponsive in the bathtub of a Tyler motel has been arrested. According to Tyler Police, the unidentified 12-year-old was transported to the Juvenile Attention Center in Tyler Thursday and charged with manslaughter. The case will be filed with the Smith County District Attorney’s Office. Officers were called to the Town House Motel on Gentry around 5:00 April 15. The child was transported by ambulance to a Tyler hospital, then transported to Children’s Hospital in Dallas. He was removed from life support April 20, and did not survive. His body was sent for autopsy at Southwest Forensics in Dallas.
TYLER — DNA evidence has led to the arrest of a man charged with inappropriately touching a girl who was sleeping in a cabin at Sky Ranch Christian Camp in 2015. According to our news partner KETK, Caylon Whittington, 29, of Mineola, has been charged with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a sex offense. His bond is set at $250,000. Whittington was arrested in Llano County on April 6 and transferred to the Smith County Jail on April 19. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY — The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Corrections were searching for a man in the wooded area near the River of Life Ministries on Highway 79 South, according to Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez. Our news partner KETK reports, the man’s body was discovered by a K-9 officer approximately 100 yards from the church before noon on Tuesday, and it was badly decomposed. Doctors told authorities it could have been in this area for 10 to 12 days. Law enforcement were looking for the man on Monday and the search was extended into Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler police were called to a pedestrian involved accident on Troup Highway around 7:00 Tuesday morning. According to Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, Timothy Nickelbur, 30, from Tyler, was crossing Troup Hwy when he was struck by a vehicle. The victim was not in a marked crosswalk. Nickelbur was taken to a local hospital where he died as a result of his injuries. The incident is under investigation.
TATUM (AP) – One person was killed in the crash of a small airplane in East Texas. The Texas Department of Public Safety reports the twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed and burned about 3:20 p.m. Monday in a rural area near the Louisiana line northeast of Tatum, about 135 miles east of Dallas. DPS Sgt. Sara Warren says the fatality involved the only person believed to have been aboard. No identity of the pilot nor cause for the crash has been determined. According to the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management, the pilot took the plane out for a maintenance flight. The scene was closed off until the Federal Aviation Administration could arrive.
SMITH COUNTY — Early voting for the May 1 Election started Monday morning. Local races include elections for the City of Tyler, City of Hideaway; and Lindale, Bullard, Chapel Hill and Troup Independent School Districts. Early voting will take place at five polling places from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, April 19-23, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, April 26-27. Election Day will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at 15 polling places. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A 13-year-old girl from Alabama was rescued from a home in Tyler around 5:00 Saturday afternoon. According to our news partner KETK, Daniel Dylan Skipworth, 19, Tyler, was charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a child, sex-trafficking of a child and resisting arrest. His bonds total to $560,000. Tyler police received information from the FBI that the girl might be at a location on Woods Boulevard. Police talked to Skipworth and found evidence that the girl could possibly be at the location. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Smith County grand jury indicted an Arlington man for his involvement in the Starrville Methodist Church shooting. According to our news partner KETK, Mytrez Deunte Woolen, 21, was reportedly evading Smith County Deputies and Department on Public Safety Troopers on Jan. 2. Officials said he hid in the Starrville church all night. Pastor Mark McWilliams, 62, found him before the Sunday service January 3, and was attempting to hold Woolen at gunpoint until law enforcement could arrive. Woolen and McWilliams struggled over the gun when the pastor was fatally shot. Read the rest of this entry »