Herb was headed to Iowa to go Pheasant hunting with his hunting dogs. Herb did not see or hear the approaching train and was broad-sided on the passenger side of his truck.The prayers of all of us who knew and loved Herb Booth are needed now for Herb and his family.

Noted Texas wildlife artist and conservationist, Herb Booth, 72, was injured on November 26 when a truck he was driving was struck by a train at an uncontrolled crossing on a private road about 15 miles northeast of Temple, Texas. Booth was seriously injured after the train dragged the Dodge pickup truck he was driving about 600 yards.

Booth, a resident of the art community in Rockport Texas, was going hunting according to a Facebook post made by his son, Peter MacMillan Booth. He was carrying about 10 dogs for the hunt and had turned off IH-35 onto a small road to let the dogs out for a run. He crossed the uncontrolled railroad grade and was struck on the passenger side of the vehicle. “Tracks had no flashing lights or barriers and he did not see (or hear) the train coming,” Peter Booth said on Facebook.

Booth was transported by air to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas where he was initially listed in serious condition.  One of the hunting dogs was killed in the accident and another was injured. The remaining dogs were placed in a shelter pending the family’s arrival.

On Friday, Booth had surgery for a neck injury. Peter Booth said the surgery went routinely but after returning to his room, he suffered a heart attack. The hospital staff was able to revive him but he remained unconscious. “The status is that right after his surgery, he had been is so much pain that he basically collapsed,” he explained. “He suffered a cardiac arrest, and his body closed down. They revived him, but he is basically in a coma.”

Herb Booth became famous in the Texas art world in the 1970s when he exhibited his Texas coastal hunting and fishing watercolors. He frequently donated his original art, valued in the thousands of dollars, to organizations like Ducks Unlimited and the Gulf Coast Conservation Association.

This writer is one of the thousands of collectors of Booth’s artwork. He has been a friend of the family for decades. In his work for conservation of wildlife, Booth designed eleven conservation stamp prints that are highly sought after by collectors. Mostly known for his watercolor depictions of the Texas coastal sporting scene, Booth also does other original forms of graphic art.

Booth’s son Peter asks for those who know and care about him to pray for his recovery. “Everyone keep praying,” Peter Booth said. “He needs it.” Earlier on Sunday, he said the MRI on his father shows brain injury on the right side of his brain. It cannot be determined how much damage was done or its lasting effects until he wakes up.

by Bob Price — a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas