TYLER, TX (08/08/2015) — A head-on crash killed 3 three people, and injured 1 other person, on Saturday afternoon along Highway 31.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) stated that 36-year-old Matthew Keith Jones, of Tyler, 8-year-old Kent Jones, of Rusk, and 53-year-old Ellisa Phippen, of Gilmer, were all killed in a head-on collision just before 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon along Highway 31 in Tyler, Texas.
A preliminary investigation by the DPS indicated that Matthew Jones was traveling westbound on Highway 31 (near County Road 279) in 2014 black Toyota Corolla when the vehicle swerved, over-corrected, and struck Phippen’s, eastbound 2008 Toyota Tundra pickup head-on. The impact caused the pickup truck to rollover.
Both occupants of the Corolla, Matthew Jones and Kent Jones, were pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident. The driver of the Tundra, Ellisa Phippen, was also pronounced deceased at the scene.
Phippen’s passenger and daughter, 23-year-old Carlee Nicole Phippen, was transported to Trinity Mother Frances Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She is in serious condition.
