Two separate wrecks at the beginning of January resulted in fatalities for two Freestone County drivers.
Joel Raines, 68, of Streetman lost his life on Friday night, January 3, 2025, near the Richland Chambers Dam.
According to Justice of the Peace, Pct. 3, Judge Cinnamon Archibald-Gonzles, Raines was traveling at about 60-70 miles per hour when his vehicle left the road, striking a tree.
She states that Raines was not wearing a seat belt, and that even though alcohol was found in the vehicle, it is unknown if alcohol played any part in the accident.
The next day, a Teague man, 76-year-old Robert Kaminski, Jr. was killed in a one-vehicle rollover wreck on Saturday, January 4, 2025, in Fairfield.
At about 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, on Highway 84 between Ponte’s Diner and Fuel Maxx, Kaminski’s maroon SUV was seen traveling toward Fairfield at a high rate of speed when he lost control and ran into oncoming traffic.
When attempting to correct his route, Kaminski overcorrected and his vehicle flipped twice, ejecting him from the SUV.
A witness to the wreck performed CPR until medics arrived and transported Kaminski to Freestone Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace, Pct. 3, Judge Cinnamon Archibald-Gonzales.
Condolences to these families.
