One Killed, Two Arrested after Wreck Involving Copter

ELKHART – One person has been killed and four injured in a two vehicle accident in Anderson County. The accident happened on U.S. Highway 287 near Elkhart just before 1:30 Sunday morning. Killed was Betsy Salazar, 40, of Waco. She was a passenger in a SUV that was hit by an SUV driven by Erik Shaun Green, 30, of Arlington. The Department of Public Safety report said Green’s SUV crossed over the center line of the road and hit the other vehicle. Anna Pecina, 22, Marysol Pecina, 21, and Luebin Garcia, 24, also all of Waco, were listed in “fair” condition at a pair of East Texas hospitals as of late Monday afternoon. Green, who suffered minor injuries, was later booked into the Anderson County Jail on a charge of intoxicated manslaughter.

Shortly after the head-on collision, a second wreck occurred when a 27-year-old Elkhart man struck a helicopter operated by Corsicana-based PHI Medical which had just landed in the middle of the roadway to transport Garcia to Tyler. Matthew Mitchell, 27, of Elkhart was charged with DWI after colliding with the helicopter in his 2000 Chevrolet Impala, according to the DPS.