Today is
Saturday June 13, 2026
HARRISON COUNTY – Two people from Oklahoma are dead following a multi-vehicle wreck on I-20 in Harrison County that caused hours of traffic woes. The wreck happened around 3:30 Thursday morning near mile marker 601, and involved several vehicles, including five 18-wheelers. According to the DPS report, four tractor trailers were stopped on the interstate for a wreck that had happened a short time earlier. A 5th semi trailer failed to stop and ran into the vehicles. The driver and passenger in that semi died at the scene. They are identified as Jimmy Crifenbery, 66, of Allen, Oklahoma, and his passenger, Judy Milburn, 52, of Oklahoma City. Injured were Andre Degree from Detroit, Michigan, who was treated and released from a Longview hospital and Robert Miller, 64, of Chandler, who remains in a Longview hospital.
LONGVIEW — A Longview woman was jailed Wednesday on charges of child endangerment after police said she failed to take a child found to be on several illicit drugs to the hospital. According to the Longview News-Journal and KETK, Tikasha Jackson, 19, of Longview was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in Rusk County. She was indicted in October by a grand jury in connection with an April incident in which jurors believe Jackson “intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence” put a child under 15 years old in “imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.” The indictment said Jackson did not voluntarily take the girl to an “emergency infant care provider” despite the child testing positive for drugs including methamphetamine, amphetamines, marijuana and cocaine.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — Jacksonville Police said a man wanted in a New Year’s Eve shooting has been arrested. Carlton “Hammer” Johnson, 27, has been accused of shooting two people after an altercation. Arriving officers say they were met with a “chaotic and uncooperative group of people†and requested backup, with several area law enforcement agencies responding. Both victims were taken to local hospitals. Witnesses identified the shooter as Johnson. He was wanted on multiple warrants. Johnson was booked into the Smith County Jail Wednesday morning on numerous charges, including evading arrest, failure to identify as a fugitive or giving false information, aggravated assault and parole violation. His bonds total $278,500.
SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is getting five new patrol units. According to KETK, county commissioners gave the go-ahead for the purchase Tuesday morning. Sheriff Larry Smith says these vehicles will replace units almost 8 years old. “We don’t need to be sitting on the side of the road, broken down waiting on a wrecker, when somebody’s life is at stake,” said Sheriff Smith. “I don’t think it’s good judgment to let that happen.” Sheriff Smith says his plan is to replace units before they get too many miles on them. The county will make more money when it sells them.
LONGVIEW — A Longview man was arrested after his involvement in a three-car wreck. According to the Longview News-Journal, Scott Garrett Oliver, 44, was held on charges of driving while intoxicated with at least two prior convictions of the same charge, evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Longview police responded to the wreck at 11:15 a.m. Saturday on Alpine Road in which witnesses said the northbound vehicle driven by Oliver rear-ended another vehicle, then collided with a parked vehicle on Williams Street before coming to rest at a laundromat. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department is investigating the city’s first fatal wreck of 2018. According to KETK, on Monday morning, around 12:20 a.m., police responded to a one-vehicle accident on Page Road. Investigators determined a car, driven by Sharika Lata Hicks, 35, of Longview, was traveling west on Page Road and disregarded the stop sign at Alpine Road. The vehicle continued to drive off the roadway before hitting a tree. Police say Hicks was not wearing a seatbelt and had been drinking. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
EAST TEXAS — A powerful cold front has sent temperatures plunging across Texas as far south as the Rio Grande Valley, where the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch through Tuesday morning. The freeze watch for far South Texas could endanger crops and other sensitive vegetation. Much of the state Sunday was under some form of winter weather, freeze or wind chill advisory, watch or warning. Texas Department of Transportation crews last week pre-treated 10,000 miles of roads with a brine solution to keep ice from sticking. Department spokeswoman Natalie Galindo says crews in the Fort Worth and Dallas area have been spreading a magnesium chloride granular mixture on roads to help drivers. Icy conditions have been reported north and west of Dallas through the Panhandle and West Texas.
HARRISON COUNTY — A Hallsville mother and her 3-month-old child were killed Sunday in a wreck in Harrison County. A Jefferson man also suffered life-threatening injuries in the wreck. According to the Longview News-Journal and the DPS report, Jessica Click, 19, and her son, Waylon Click, were pronounced dead Sunday at Longview hospitals. Jessica Click died at Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center and Waylon died at Longview Regional Medical Center. The wreck happened around 3:30 p.m. on FM 2208, about five miles from Alpine Road. Click was driving north on FM 2208 when her car swerved into the southbound lane of traffic and hit a truck, driven by 24-year-old Christopher Derr of Jefferson. Rescue workers used the Jaws of Life to remove Click from her car. Derr was taken to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview to be treated for injuries. The wreck remained under investigation.
KILGORE — Kilgore Police are investigating a fatal shooting. It happened around 11:30 Sunday night at the Meadow Green Apartment Complex. According to officers, Tracy Lynn Reedy, 50, Kilgore, was found with multiple gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The unidentified suspect fled the scene before officers arrived. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information in regards to this crime can contact Detective John Rowe at 903-218-6906. You can give information anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP. Anonymous information may also be submitted through the Kilgore Police Department’s Website, facebook page or tip411.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Forecasters have issued an overnight hard freeze warning for a four-state region as an Arctic cold front pushes its way through the area. The National Weather Service issued the warning Sunday for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana from midnight until 10 a.m. Monday. The service says temperatures will range from the teens in northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and eastern sections of north-central Louisiana to the low 20s across east Texas and northwest Louisiana. Temperatures began plummeting Saturday as the front moved into the area, bringing light snow and freezing drizzle that coated some highways and bridges with ice. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office have arrested an Arp man in connection with a child sex crime. According to KETK, a Smith County booking report indicated Danny Heldenbrand, 42, was arrested and charged with one count of indecency with a child sexual contact. He was arrested on a warrant issued by the 7th District Court. Heldenbrand is currently in the Smith County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
LONGVIEW — A wreck involving a truck and a train closed a Longview roadway for several hours. It happened around 4:45 Friday morning on Estes Parkway. Police said the Dodge pickup was traveling north bound when it struck the train. The railroad crossing lights were on and the train was moving across Estes Pkwy. There were two people in the truck and both sustained minor injuries. The roadway was briefly closed but has since reopened.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — Emergency crews responded a reported explosion off US Hwy 69, near Love’s Lookout. According to KETK, Department of Public Safety Troopers said the blast happened at an active gas well just before 7:00 Wednesday night. BreitBurn Energy Partners, L.P. owns the well. No injuries were reported. The explosion remains under investigation.
SMITH COUNTY — A three vehicle wreck in Tyler last night leaves an 11-month-old dead and several others injured. It happened just after 5:30 on Hwy 64 West, two miles outside of the Tyler city limits. According to the DPS report, a Jeep Liberty, driven by Jason Howland, 36, Tyler, was traveling west when he drifted into the neighboring lane and struck a Mazda. Howland over-corrected, swerving into oncoming traffic and was struck by a truck. Howland was not injured in the crash, nor was his 36 year-old passenger, Frederick Fitzgerald, of Dallas. Another passenger, identified as 11-month-old Jaylyn Howland, was transported to ETMC-Tyler where she was later pronounced dead. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY — Three women were arrested on drug charges following two separate traffic stops in Henderson County. Debra Wade, 57 (pictured) and Sherri Green, 46, were taken into custody in the Trinidad area after midnight Tuesday following an initial traffic violation. The two women were charged with possession of the methamphetamine. Green was also charged with possession of a controlled substance in the form of a pill. Two glass pipes were also discovered in the vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »