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Killeen lost three pastors recently after a Texas car crash near Pflugerville, outside of Austin. The victims, Terry Whitley, Jan Whitley and Steve Timmerman, were driving northbound on State Highway 13 around the 19400 block when the small passenger van they were riding in blew a tire. This caused the van to overturn and roll, coming to a rest in the southbound lane of the highway.
Jan Whitley died at the scene and was pinned in the van. One of the men was thrown from the vehicle and also died at the scene, while the other man was taken to Round Rock Hospital with critical injuries and later died there. While crews were trying to clear the accident scene, authorities say that another vehicle crashed into the back of a tow truck. The condition of those drivers is unknown.
Mr. and Mrs. Whitley and Timmerman all worked for Grace Christian Center in Killeen; Mr. Whitley was the senior pastor who established the church 30 years ago, while Mrs. Whitley and Timmerman were associate pastors. They had been driving home from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when the accident occurred.
Timmerman had also served as the Killeen Fire Department's chaplain since 2002.
"The City of Killeen is greatly saddened by the loss of Chaplain Timmerman, who was a valuable member of our fire department for more than a decade," said Mayor Dan Corbin. "On behalf of the City of Killeen, I extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and congregation of Pastor Timmerman and Pastors Terry and Jan Whitley.”