Released by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
UPDATE: The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office is investigating a construction accident that has left two men dead and one injured. All three men are from the Tyler area. At 9:01 Monday morning, CCSO received a 911 call from 1058 CR 3113 at Lake Jacksonville stating that a retaining wall had fallen on and trapped three men.
Donald Starling 60, owner of Five Star Cement Company, Hollis Morris, 68, and Rodney Morris, 45, and son of Hollis Morris were working on the low side of a retaining wall at Lake Jacksonville. They had stopped work and went to a shady area at the wall to take a break when a section of the wall broke and collapsed on them. The size that fell was approximately thirty feet long and twelve feet tall and about one foot thick of cement and rock.
Rodney Morris was removed and taken to East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville with broken bones and is believed to be in fair condition. Donald Starling and Hollis Morris were killed instantly. Jacksonville firemen and Earl's Chapel firemen worked for three hours to free the two men. Much of the digging had to be done by shovel and backhoe. Justice of the Peace #3 Philip Grimes held the inquest.
Cherokee County Investigator Fred Butler is the lead investigator.
UPDATE: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office have identified to two men killed this morning at a construction site on Lake Jacksonville. They are 60-year-old Donald Starling and 68-year-old Hollis Morris, both of Tyler. Morris' son, Rodney Morris, 45, was taken to a Jacksonville hospital with minor injuries but is expected to recover.
UPDATE: Cherokee County Constable Eddie Lee says the two men who were trapped under a concrete wall and dirt that fell on top of them are dead. A third man is being treated at an area hospital.
The incident happened shortly after 9:30 this morning while trying to build a retaining wall.
JACKSONVILLE (KYTX) - Cherokee County officials are on the scene of a construction site where a retaining wall fell on two workers.
Michael Carter, a sergeant with Cherokee County Sheriff's Office dispatch, said the incident occurred on County Road 3113, south of County Road 3112, near Jacksonville, and possibly involves two deaths.
"They were working on construction (at the location), (and the wall) fell on two workers," he said.
Emergency Medical Services was on the way to the scene earlier this morning. Multiple fire departments, including Earl's Chapel and Jacksonville, were also dispatched to the scene.
