Published: February 05, 2009 08:51 am      

Reklaw woman hospitalized after crashing on U.S. 69

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A Reklaw woman was taken to a local hospital Wednesday morning after crashing her Honda sedan into the tree line along U.S. Highway 69 North.

Texas Department of Public Safety reports indicate Donna French, 20, of Reklaw was traveling north on the highway about 6:45 a.m. when she apparently drifted off the right side of the roadway in her 1998 Honda Civic, about a mile and a half outside Rusk.

“When her tires left the pavement, she over-corrected and lost control of the vehicle,” Trooper Eric Long said.

The Honda left the roadway a second time, collided with the trees lining the highway and flipped over.

First-responders with the Rusk Fire Department used extraction equipment on the roof of the car to get French out. She was taken to East Texas Medical Center-Rusk in serious condition; officials said it was likely she would be air-lifted to ETMC-Tyler once she stabilized.

ETMC-Tyler officials would not release information on French on Wednesday afternoon.

Long attributed the crash to driver inexperience.