2010-01-28
Motorcycle crash on FM 337 leaves Methodist minister seriously injured
By Judith Pannebaker
Everette Boyce Jr., pastor of Bandera’s United Methodist Church, was seriously injured in a one-motorcycle accident on Wednesday, Jan. 20, on FM 337.
An emergency call came through dispatch at 4 pm that afternoon. According to information obtained from a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Boyce, a Bandera resident, was traveling east between Medina and Vanderpool when he apparently failed to negotiate a sharp right turn on the winding road.
In his report, DPS Trooper Damon Derr noted that Boyce had driven off the left side of the road into a grassy barrow ditch. Reconstructing the accident, Derr hypothesized that the 2006 Yamaha motorcycle had remained upright while in the ditch. However, after re-entering the roadway, Boyce apparently over-corrected, causing his cycle to roll. At that time, he fell off the vehicle and “ended up partially in the westbound lane of traffic,” the spokesperson said.
After EMS personnel stabilized him at the scene, Boyce was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio. He was admitted to the ICU with “incapacitating injuries” that included broken bones and ribs and chipped vertebrae, along with unspecified internal injuries. However, on Monday, Jan. 25, Boyce was reported in stable condition and more responsive. It was not known if he remained in the intensive care unit, however.
Boyce was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. However, as the DPS spokesman noted, “Sometimes, not even a helmet will protect you from brain injuries.”
When the accident occurred, Boyce had apparently been following his son, Stephen Saenz. When Saenz realized his father was no longer behind him, he turned around and began retracing the route. Saenz found his father lying in the middle of FM 337.
Prayer requests for Boyce have gone out through the emails of congregations of many Bandera churches. Boyce has served as pastor for the United Methodist Church for six years.
