Kirbyville Police Captain in second accident this year. Neither were his fault

The Texas Department of Public Safety investigated a non-injury crash in Kirbyville on Farm-to-Market Road 363, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 96, that occurred at approximately 8 a.m. Friday morning.

The crash investigation indicates that a 2023 Ford F-250 police unit being driven by 39-year-old Kirbyville Police Captain Joshua Hancock was traveling west on F.M. 363, followed by a 2017 Nissan Versa. It is reported that Hancock was stopped at the red light, when the driver of the Nissan failed to control his speed and struck the rear of the police unit.

Hancock said, "I saw him coming and there was a lot of cars in the intersection so I just moved to the side the best I could. Actually it's a good thing I was there because he could have gone into the intersection and it could have been really bad."

When asked what caused the accident, Hancock said, "He had just gotten off work, he was tired and just wasn't paying attention."

Hancock was not injured.

The driver of the Nissan, identified as 25-year-old Justin Odom of Kirbyville, was also not injured. Odom was cited for failing to control his speed.

Hancock said that this vehicle was less than a year old. He was in a previous rear-end accident at the beginning of the year at the stop sign on Bon Ami Road and Hwy 96. Hancock said, "The same thing happened then. I was stopped, waiting on traffic and someone slammed into the back of me. People just not paying attention."