A Texas honey vendor was hospitalized after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. Now, the community is rallying to support his recovery.
WILLIS, Texas — A Willis man known for selling local roadside honey is in the hospital after he was struck by a vehicle that veered off a roadway near Lake Conroe earlier this week.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and charged with intoxicated assault.
Nikki Kerr is still trying to comprehend what happened to her uncle, Mark Simmons, earlier this week.
Simmons, 70, had been selling local honey from a spot on FM 1097 near Lake Conroe for only a few months.
“He’s retired and he likes to fish. When he’s not fishing, he’s working in his garden or selling honey, waiting for people to stop by to chat with him,” Kerr said.
On Tuesday afternoon, his life changed. As he was working at his honey stand, a vehicle flew off the roadway, ran over Simmons and crashed into a building.
Video of the aftermath was captured by the Meta glasses worn by the owner of a nearby snowball shop, who stopped when he saw there had been a crash. Kyle Ewald said he didn’t realize his glasses were recording. The video shows Simmons injured on the ground, surrounded by spilled honey.
First responders attended to Simmons, and the video shows the driver of the vehicle at the scene. Robert White, 76, who lives nearby, was arrested at the scene. He has been charged with intoxicated assault with a vehicle.
“His body is just going through the whole trauma process,” Kerr said.
Simmons is intubated at a Conroe hospital, awaiting his next surgery. Kerr said he has lost a lot of blood and has several broken bones.
“It’s going to be a long, long journey,” she said.
People who have heard the story are starting to help. The owner of Keke’s Snow Balls will be selling Simmons’ honey starting this weekend and is planning a benefit for him next week.
For Kerr, it’s tough to understand why this happened to her uncle, who never could have seen this coming.
“He always made it very clear that he would never drive or want any family members to drive after drinking, and then for this to happen to him … it’s hard to swallow,” she said.
Family members of Mark Simmons have created a GoFundMe page for expenses related to his recovery.