OFF THE WIRE
Investigators search a crime scene in Frisco where a woman's body was found Wednesday morning.
By Jessica Rush, jrush@acnpapers.com
The Plano Police Traffic Unit is investigating a vehicle crash that killed a Plano resident Sunday afternoon.
Plano police officials said Halsell Samuel Davis III, 57, was on a motorcycle traveling northbound in the 3200 block of Independence Parkway. At approximately 1:45 p.m., he collided with a vehicle that had failed to yield the right of way while turning out of a shopping center parking lot.
Davis was ejected from his motorcycle and struck the vehicle in front of him. Police say he was wearing a helmet and protective gear at the time of the accident and was transported with serious injuries to a local hospital.
A short time later, doctors pronounced him dead.
The driver of the other vehicle has not been charged and was not injured in the collision.
Davis was a well-known Plano attorney and fifth-generation Collin County resident who formerly worked part-time as an associate judge in the Plano Municipal Court. He received his law degree from Baylor University in 1991 and had been practicing family law in Texas for close to 20 years, according to his website, http://www.civdiv.com/.
His law practice in Plano, Civilized Divorce, prompted him to write a book, "How to Start a Solo Law Practice: The Nuts and Bolts of Starting & Running a Law Office." Davis also frequently wrote about reactions to family law issues on his blog.
He was married to his wife, Ann, for more than 26 years.
"Hal was a bon vivant, a Renaissance man, and he was bigger than life," she said. "Bon vivant means 'great life.' He was a lover of life. He loved his family."
Davis is also survived by their son, Read. The father-and-son duo would play together at blues jams, bluegrass festivals and in the praise band at First United Methodist Church of Plano.
"He loved music," Ann said. "He was a really good harmonica player. Any opportunity he had to be on the stage to do that, he took it."
Davis was also very involved with ministry, particularly Kairos Prison Ministry.
"He was a faithful servant of his Lord who loved his family dearly and always did the best and right thing for everyone who touched his life," Ann said.
For recreation, Davis trained in Aikido, a Japanese martial art, and earned his black belt in the self-defense art form.
"If there was something that interested him, he plunged into it headfirst and learned everything he could about it," Ann said.
Davis was a graduate of Leadership Plano and the Plano Police Academy as well as a trustee of FUMC of Plano. His clients are being asked for patience as the family and attorneys helping with his cases work out their options.
Davis's memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at FUMC of Plano, 3160 E. Spring Creek Parkway. The family is asking in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the church, the Salvation Army, One Man's Treasure or the charity of their choice.
