The storms caused the death of a long-time Van Zandt County commissioner when a tree fell on the car he was driving during a tornado-warned storm. Virgil Melton Jr. died on Monday night as he was heading home along Farm to Market Road 279 in the town of Edom. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker has more.
A Van Zandt County Commissioner was killed Monday night and his wife was injured when a tree fell on their vehicle as a tornado-warned storm pushed through the area.
"I can't think about not having him in my life," Melton's nephew Casey Melton said standing outside his uncle's home, which is right next door to his own home. "He was like a second father to me. He's been there ever since I can remember."
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WATCH HEREThe Texas Department of Public Safety said Precinct 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton, 76, was driving near Farm-to-Market Road 279 near Edom at about 8 p.m. when a tree fell on the cab of his truck.
The longtime commissioner died at the scene.
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SIGN UP Casey Melton said his uncle survived 2 tours of Vietnam and had a career fighting crime with the Dallas Police Department, and later with the criminal courts in Dallas County.
"It's amazing," Casey Melton said. "Just a tree took his life...you've got to value each and every day we're here and every day we're on the Earth as best we can."
Melton's wife Janice, 73, was in the vehicle with him and was hospitalized in critical condition in Tyler. On Tuesday morning, Janice Melton was said to be stable, though further details about her injuries are not confirmed.
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Family members told NBC 5 that the Meltons were on their way back from their great-nephew's softball game, which had been canceled, when their vehicle was struck by the fallen tree.
"I'll miss him. I'm just counting my blessings the time that I got to spend with him," Casey Melton said. "I love you, Uncle Virgil!"
