DPS: Pedestrian fatality caused head-on crash in Tarkington

A Tarkington man was killed Thursday evening, Nov. 4, just before 7 p.m. when he was struck by a vehicle as he attempted to walk across SH 105 toward CR 2800 in Tarkington.

According to Sgt. Rob Willoughby, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, the deceased man is identified as John Whitson, 86.

Whitson was struck by an eastbound 1998 Toyota 4-Runner, the driver of which then swerved into oncoming traffic in the westbound lane.

The Toyota driver, Mike Carrera, 67, of Lumberton, collided head-on into a westbound Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Marlin Flores Espinales, 34, of Splendora.

Whitson was pronounced dead at the scene by Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Wade Brown. His body was taken to Neal Funeral Home in Cleveland.

Neither Carrera or Espinales were seriously injured, Willoughby said, and did not need medical attention.

Willoughby said both vehicles were traveling at traffic speed and no citations will be issued for Carrera.

Previous articleTexas drivers urged to ‘End the Streak’ of daily deaths
Next articleLiberty County Jail arrest report, Nov. 6, 2021
Before creating Bluebonnet News in 2018, Vanesa Brashier was a community editor for the Houston Chronicle/Houston Community Newspapers. During part of her 12 years at the newspapers, she was assigned as the digital editor and managing editor for the Humble Observer, Kingwood Observer, East Montgomery County Observer and the Lake Houston Observer, and the editor of the Dayton News, Cleveland Advocate and Eastex Advocate. Over the years, she has earned more than two dozen writing awards, including Journalist of the Year.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.