Another holiday tragedy

Father, daughter killed in Christmas Eve wreck

Published Thursday, December 27, 2007

By Robert Morgan

What started out as a fun family night out on Christmas Eve ended in tragedy for one Decatur family. A father and daughter were killed and three other family members were seriously injured in a two-vehicle wreck on U.S 81/287 at South Business 81/287 in Decatur.

The family's SUV was struck broadside by a tractor trailer at the intersection just after 8 p.m. Ten-year-old Shawnee Bell was killed instantly and her father, 36-year-old William Bell, died just after midnight while in surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital.

The two youngest children - Cheyenne Bell, 9, and Cale Bell, 7 - were critically injured and flown to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. All three children attended Carson Elementary.

Their mother, Tammy Bell, 41, was taken to Wise Regional Health System for multiple injuries and later taken to a Fort Worth hospital.

She has been released is with her children at the hospital.

The highway was closed the rest of the evening as TxDOT crews had to clean up debris, fuel and drilling mud that had covered the northbound lanes. The southbound side of 287 was closed for helicopters.

The accident also left the county without emergency medical crews. Bowie and Azle fire departments were dispatched to accidents and medical emergencies in Bridgeport and Boyd.

The family of five had just left the house for a Christmas gathering in Arlington with relatives.

William Bell was southbound on Business 81/287 crossing U.S. 81/287 when the accident occured. The impact flipped the family's mangled vehicle before it came to a rest upside down in the center median of the highway.

"The car with the family in it went straight through the stop sign at the highway," said Decatur Police Chief Rex Hoskins. "There were no skid marks indicating that they knew a truck was coming or that Mr. Bell even saw a stop sign. That part is something we are still investigating."

Hoskins does not believe alcohol played a role in the accident, but he said because it was a fatal accident, blood tests were ordered and those results would be back in about two weeks.

The driver of the truck, 28-year-old Chad Sager of Mineral Wells, was not injured.

"There were skid marks from Mr. Sager's truck indicating he tried to slow down, but he had very little time," Hoskins said. "He was going the posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour. It was just a tremendous impact that we are fortunate so far that some of the family has made it."

As of Wednesday afternoon, hospital officials said that Cheyenne Bell remained in critical condition and Cale Bell was listed in serious condition.

This has been one of the deadliest holiday seasons ever in Wise County for local families. Candace Richardson and her 15-year-old son Shane Eichthaler were killed in a head-on collision during Thanksgiving weekend just east of Decatur on U.S. 380.