Victoria Advocate, The (TX)
August 17, 2006
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Bay City man killed in accident
Author: JUDY TRIPLETT - Matagorda County Advocate
Article Text:
BAY CITY - A Bay City man was thrown from his pickup and killed Saturday when he lost control after the boat and trailer he was towing came unhitched, officials said.
Jeffery Gordon Boots, 39, and his passenger, Alfredo Rodriguez, 39, both of Bay City, were traveling north on Farm-to-Market Road 457 towing a 10-foot sailboat.
Boots looked down at his dash for a moment and swerved onto the shoulder to the right, according to the passenger's statement, said Department of Public Safety Trooper Juan Aguilera.
He overcorrected as he pulled his 1992 Chevrolet pickup back to the left, and it caused the sailboat to come unhitched and begin swaying.
As the trailer came loose, the tongue of the trailer gouged the roadway. The pickup's tires "dug into the pavement," and the truck flipped onto its right side and skidded into the ditch, Aguilera said.
The pickup landed in a pasture. Boots, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the pickup. The passenger, who was wearing a seatbelt, received only minor injuries.
The trailer ball on the pickup was smaller in diameter than the boat trailer hitch required, Aguilera said. Also, only one safety chain was attached, and the safety pin was not in place.
Justice of the Peace Joe Knight pronounced Boots dead at the scene at 5:20 p.m. He also ordered an autopsy be performed by the Galveston County Medical Examiners office, Aguilera said.
• Judy Triplett is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact her at 979-244-1330 or jtriplett@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.
Copyright, (c) 2006, The Victoria Advocate
Record Number: 113A76C3F5AD2278
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