CHS_CG
07-27-2010, 12:00 PM
A major accident near Caldwell has claimed the life of the city's mayor.
According to the Department of Public Safety, Bernard Rychlik, 71, died from injuries sustained during a two-vehicle accident Monday night.
The accident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Highway 36, just north of Caldwell, according to DPS. Rychlik was reportedly on his way to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall when he apparently missed his turn and tried to make a U-turn.
A truck behind the mayor hit his vehicle, pushing it across the center lane and into a ditch. Rychlik was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
Two people in the other vehicle were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
Burleson County Sheriff Dale Stroud tells News 3 that this is a great loss for the community. He said Rychlik was well known and that he will be greatly missed.
A longtime employee of Woodson Lumber, Rychlik was also the public address announcer for Caldwell High School football and baseball games for years. He also was at the forefront of publicizing the annual Kolache Festival in Caldwell, which is known as the Kolache Capital of Texas.
Funeral services are pending.
According to the Department of Public Safety, Bernard Rychlik, 71, died from injuries sustained during a two-vehicle accident Monday night.
The accident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Highway 36, just north of Caldwell, according to DPS. Rychlik was reportedly on his way to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall when he apparently missed his turn and tried to make a U-turn.
A truck behind the mayor hit his vehicle, pushing it across the center lane and into a ditch. Rychlik was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
Two people in the other vehicle were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
Burleson County Sheriff Dale Stroud tells News 3 that this is a great loss for the community. He said Rychlik was well known and that he will be greatly missed.
A longtime employee of Woodson Lumber, Rychlik was also the public address announcer for Caldwell High School football and baseball games for years. He also was at the forefront of publicizing the annual Kolache Festival in Caldwell, which is known as the Kolache Capital of Texas.
Funeral services are pending.