This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Hayes, Keith Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/hkB.2ACE/6176 Message Board Post: Cameron Herald, Thur., 28 Nov 2002 James Reginald Hayes, 45, of Cameron died Nov. 22 near Minerva as the result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. The Rev. Gary Maroney officiated at his funeral Nov. 25. The body will be cremated. Hayes, an I & E technician, was born Dec. 14, 1956 in Sinton to Reginald Roland and Melba Ruth Keith Hayes. He served in the United States Navy. He is survived by his mother Melba Hayes of Cameron; wife Beth Hayes of Mathis; son Joshua Michael Hayes of Baton Rouge, LA; daughter Jessica Marie Hayes of Tennessee; and sister Linda Schmidt of Mathis. = = = Cameron Herald, Thur., 28 Nov 2002 "Cycle Crash Kills Two" By MIKE PECK Managing Editor A Cameron motorcycle driver and his passenger were killed in a near head-on crash with an auto Friday evening on US 77 at Minerva. The rider, James Reginald Hayes, 45, of Cameron, and his passenger, Carrie Schmidt, 26, of Mathis, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at 6:44 p.m. by Milam County Peace Justice Twila Harris. Brenda Earl, 55, of Cameron, the driver of the 1995 Saturn that collided with Hayes' 1980 Honda, and her husband, Geoffrey Earl, 57, of Cameron, a passenger in the auto, were both transported to Scott & White Hospital in Temple. Department of Public Safety Trooper Michael Nix said Mrs. Earl underwent emergency surgery for a broken ankle. She has since been released from the hospital. Mr. Earl was treated and released from the hospital Friday night. Nix said the Honda was traveling north on US 77 and Earl's Saturn was headed south on US 77 when the collision occurred near the centerstripe in a curve in the highway. "A witness who was traveling northbound behind the motorcycle said the bike was weaving from side-to-side in the northbound lane prior to the crash," Nix said. "The Earls said as they entered the curve, they saw a bright light that appeared to be coming at them from the opposite direction," Nix said. "They were trying to figure out what it was, and the passenger, Mr. Earl, said he saw the amber lights on the motorcycle." Nix said Mrs. Earl said she swerved to the left because the motorcycle appeared to be in the center of the southbound lane. "The area of impact was near the centerstripe," Nix said. "The car and motorcycled collided on the right front area of the Saturn. Both the driver and passenger of the motorcycle were ejected from the bike. The passenger was thrown some 75 feet from the point of initial impact." Authorities believe Hayes died on impact. Fire and rescue workers from the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department performed cardiopulmonary rescucitation on Schmidt until emergency personnel with the Scott & White Emergency Medical Service arrived. Nix said the north and southbound lanes of traffic were closed for about two hours while authorities tried to sort out the cause of the accident and clear wreckage from the roadway. After two hours, traffic was allowed to pass on the shoulders of the roadway and the lanes were not reopened to through traffic until after 11:30 p.m. Nix said neither passenger on the motorcycle was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. According to Nix, no citations have been issued in the crash and the cause of the mishap remains under investigation. "It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in this crash," Nix said. The Honda and the Saturn were totaled in the crash. Joint funeral services for Hayes and Mathis were held Monday evening at Marek-Burns-Laywell Funeral Home in Cameron. Services for Schmidt were also conducted Wednesday in Mathis.