Graham Art Guild member killed in car crash

Two men died in a head-on collision in Jack County on Wednesday, Aug. 1 including the 2018 Art at the OPOMAC winner of Best of Show.

Engineer, Newport Volunteer Firefighter and artist Jan Russell “Rusty” Cook, 57, of Jack County, was traveling south shortly before 9 a.m. on Hwy. 59 about 20 miles north of Jacksboro when his 2018 Dodge Caravan was struck by a 2017 Ford F-150 driven by Colby Charles Cosper, 35, of Clifton.

Cosper, a musician, was traveling north when his pickup crossed the center stripe while trying to negotiate a hill with a curve in the highway. Cook was unable to make an evasive maneuver as the vehicles crested the hill. Cook was pronounced dead at the scene. Cosper was transported by air ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital with serious injuries. He died at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2.

Texas Department of Public Safety Staff Sgt. Dan Buesing said the road conditions were clear and dry and the crash is under investigation.

According to a Facebook post by Jack County Rural Fire Department Chief Jim Richardson, Cook had been with the Newport Volunteer Fire Department for nine years and served as the department’s secretary and treasurer.

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