By Kelly Young
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
A Jacksonville man was killed Tuesday morning while driving his motorcycle on U.S. Highway 69.
The patrol officers who worked the scene said David Bellows, 54, had been riding northbound when another vehicle illegally pulled out in front of him and he was unable to avoid a collision. The call came at 6:51 a.m., and officers arrived at the intersection of Jackson Street and Beall Boulevard at 6:54 a.m.
“A woman, Helen Jones, was operating a 1998 white Chevy Suburban and was on Beall Boulevard stopped at the stop sign,” said Officer Lex Moses with the Jacksonville Police Department. “I have a witness that says the motorcyclist was changing lanes and this lady failed to yield right-of-way and they impacted in the inside lane.”
According to Moses, death was instantaneous. Bellows’ motorcycle struck the SUV just behind its driver-side door, causing considerable damage to both vehicles. Jones suffered some superficial wounds to her left arm in the collision.
Justice of the Peace Vera Foreman was called to the scene, pronounced Bellows dead and ordered an autopsy. Jones was then transported to East Texas Medical Center-Jacksonville where a toxicology test was conducted to check for the presence of drugs in her system — a standard procedure. Sgt. Jesse Maberry said it will likely take several weeks for the results of the tox-screen to come back.
At this time, Moses said it doesn’t appear that Bellows did anything wrong to cause the wreck.
“I issued Ms. Jones a citation because she was shown at fault for failure to yield right-of-way while making a left turn. I will submit a report to the grand jury, and they will decide whether criminal charges need to be filed or not,” he said.
Bellows’ funeral services are pending through Autry Funeral Home of Jacksonville.
