They’re in shock and mourning in Sabine County after three members of a volunteer fire department were killed in a crash there on Saturday evening. Two of them were a husband and wife who were the parents of three children.
Daily News & More is reporting that it happened at about 7:00 on Highway 21 in Pendleton Harbor, a community in the northeast portion of the county on the western shore of Toledo Bend Reservoir. The three firefighters were in a passenger vehicle and the accident did not involve a fire department call.
Friends and family have identified two of the deceased as husband and wife Jason and Vanessa Davis, ages 38 and 28, and DPS says the third person who died was Ralph Hill, age 48, of Hemphill.
According to DPS Sergeant David Hendry, 44-year-old Curtis Harrison, of Hemphill, was driving a 2021 Toyota passenger car and he failed to yield right-of-way when leaving a private driveway. Hendry said Harrison pulled out in front of an eastbound 2010 GMC pickup truck which struck the Toyota, and then went into the westbound lane and collided with a 2016 Chevrolet pickup truck that was driven by Vanessa Davis, and occupied by Jason Davis and Ralph Hill.
The Davis couple and Hill were all pronounced dead at the scene, while Harrison was flown by a medical helicopter to the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport for treatment of critical injuries.
Sergeant Hendry said the driver and passenger in the Chevrolet truck were not injured, and their identities were not immediately available.
Several agencies worked the scene, including emergency responders who came in from Sabine Parish to assist.
The Pendleton Harbor Fire Department has released a statement which says “Tonight we come and ask for prayers for our department. Tonight a tone dropped for a 3 car accident, never did we think it would be one of our own. We lost 3 members tonight. Our assistant chief lost his brother also. Please keep all of our families in your prayers.”
*A GoFundMe account has been established to assist with funeral expenses for the family of Jason & Vanessa Davis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jason-vanessa-davis-funeral-expenses?fbclid=IwAR3OdIIZ5OCoIQIy37aSgQ9GR5LnDiMrhAOFFZNgmSA62R2nevWIogmSnVA
https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_a62e80b0-58c8-11eb-9d13-eff7b815f802.html