MOVE OVER, SLOW DOWN: At 5:02 a.m., Officer Cody Deal responded to a two-vehicle, no-injury accident on U.S. 59 south at the intersection of Southwood Drive. While Officer Deal was waiting on a wrecker, a man involved in the accident asked him how often secondary crashes occur while accidents are being worked. Officer Deal told him about Officer Seth Thompson's accident last year. He went on to note that secondary accidents occur all the time in other areas, but thankfully not very often here in Lufkin. Less than five minutes later, a southbound Dodge truck slammed into the back of Deal's Tahoe. The Tahoe was knocked 50 feet into a wrecker that had just arrived on the scene. The driver of the truck said he was distracted by a vehicle being cleared from the northbound side of U.S. 59 and did not see that the southbound side was partially blocked. Thankfully he and his passenger were not injured nor were Officer Deal, the wrecker driver (who was out of the truck already) or the man seen in the video. We're releasing this video to bring awareness and remind everyone to MOVE OVER, SLOW DOWN for first responders. #moveoverslowdown #everyonewenthome
On the early morning of January 23, 2020, Lufkin Police Officer Cody Deal was working the scene of a two-vehicle, no-injury accident on U.S. 59 south of Lufkin at the intersection of Southwood Drive.
While Officer Deal was waiting on a wrecker, a man involved in the accident asked him how often secondary crashes occur while accidents are being worked. Officer Deal told him about Officer Seth Thompson’s accident last year. He went on to note that secondary accidents occur all the time in other areas, but thankfully not very often here in Lufkin.
Less than five minutes later, a southbound Dodge truck slammed into the back of Deal’s Tahoe. The Tahoe was knocked 50 feet into a wrecker that had just arrived on the scene.
The driver of the truck said he was distracted by a vehicle being cleared from the northbound side of U.S. 59 and did not see that the southbound side was partially blocked. Thankfully he and his passenger were not injured nor were Officer Deal, the wrecker driver (who was out of the truck already) or the man seen in the video.
Lufkin Police Department has released this video to bring awareness and remind everyone to MOVE OVER, SLOW DOWN for first responders.
Lee Miller is a veteran of the broadcast media industry and CEO of MSG Resources LLC, where he consults on media strategy, broadcast best practices, and distribution technologies. He began his career in Lufkin in the early 80s and has since held leadership roles in both for-profit and nonprofit broadcasting. Lee serves as Executive Director of the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance and is a member of the Texas Association of Broadcasters Golden Mic Club. He lives near Lufkin on his family s tree farm, serves on the board of the Salvation Army, and plays keyboard in the worship band at Harmony Hill Baptist Church. He and his wife Kenla have two grown children, Joshua and Morgan.
