A 77-year-old Dayton woman, Joyce Parham Mikolajewski, died Friday from injuries she suffered in a head-on collision on SH 321 south of CR 668 north of Dayton, authorities say.
When Dayton Police Officer Greg Rodriguez arrived at the scene, he found two vehicles with severe damage to the front ends of both vehicles, according to Capt. John Coleman, spokesperson for Dayton Police Department.
Inside a 2013 Nissan sedan he found Mikolajewski pinned between the steering wheel and driver-side door. She was breathing and conscious, but unable to respond to Rodriguez’s questions, Coleman said. Her vehicle was facing northbound in the southbound lane of travel.
Rodriguez called for Liberty County EMS and Dayton Volunteer Fire Department to respond to the scene while he checked on the condition of the second driver, 25-year-old Bria Merlnise Payne-Hall, of Humble, who was driving a 2017 Honda SUV. Payne-Hall was injured but had not suffered life-threatening injuries, according to Coleman.
Dayton firefighters extricated Mikolajewski from her vehicle. Due to the extent of her injuries, it was determined that she should be transported to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston.
According to Coleman, Payne-Hall suffered an injury to her ankle. She was transported by ground ambulance to Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center for treatment.
“Liberty County EMS advised that while they were en route to Hermann Memorial Hospital, the paramedics on the ambulance began CPR [on Mikolajewski],” Coleman said.
Due to the need for immediate emergency medical treatment, the ambulance was rerouted to Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center. However, when the ambulance arrived at the hospital, Mikolajewski had succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
The accident is still under investigation.