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Stephen Dudley Morgan
Before his trial started, Stephen Dudley Morgan, a 61-year-old Buna man, changed his not-guilty assertion and pleaded guilty in connection to a 2021 wreck that claimed the life of woman near Silsbee. Morgan pleaded guilty to manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, and received a 45-year sentence for manslaughter and a 10-year sentence for driving while intoxicated. The sentences will run concurrently.
The case was held in the 356th District Court with Judge Steve Thomas presiding.
The fatal car crash was June 2, 2021. Morgan was arrested on June 15, 2021, in Tyler County on a manslaughter warrant.
A DPS report stated that Morgan was northbound in a 2013 Nissan Rogue SUV when he attempted to pass to the left and lost control, striking the left side guardrail near the U.S. 96 overpass, south of Silsbee. DPS stated the vehicle then spun multiple times before coming to rest on the side of the highway.
The passenger in the vehicle, Jerry Harris Pommier, 80, died a short time later at a Beaumont hospital. She retired from Evadale ISD after 28 years.