Wreck claims life of Clarendon man

A two-vehicle collision claimed the life of a Clarendon man Saturday morning in Lelia Lake.

Herman Mooring, age 87, was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Connie Havens after his brown 1994 GMC half-ton pick up was struck by a semi-truck, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Ward.

Mooring was southbound on Denver Street shortly after 11 a.m. and came to complete stop at the intersection with US 287, witnesses told authorities.

“They said he sat there for a minute and then pulled out like he was going to cross the highway,” Ward said.

A maroon Peterbilt truck was eastbound on US 287 and struck Mooring’s pickup squarely in the passenger side door. The pickup came to rest facing north and blocking the westbound lanes of US 287. Mooring was not wearing a safety belt and was ejected from the vehicle, Ward said.

“He was very likely killed on impact,” Ward said.

The Peterbilt came to rest blocking the eastbound lanes, and traffic was blocked on the highway from about an hour, according to a dispatcher’s report from the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver of the Peterbilt, 35-year-old Ken Smith of Comanche, Okla., was not injured.

Ward said the DPS was prepareing to do a speed analysis as of Monday morning, but his judgment was that Smith was “probably doing pretty close to the 55 mph speed limit.”

Assisting with the accident in addition to the DPS and the sheriff’s office were the Texas Department of Transportation, the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, and the Associated Ambulance Authority.

Services were held Monday for Mooring, who lived in Donley County much of his life and formerly owned Mooring Bait & Tackle at Greenbelt Lake.