A Beaumont City Council member, who recently led an effort to censure fellow council members for conduct “unbecoming of an elected official,” is now under investigation following an alleged hit-and-run accident at a downtown political event.
LaDonna Sherwood, the Ward 3 representative who has served on city council since May 2025, was accused of striking a parked vehicle and leaving the scene during a private gathering Jan. 22 in downtown Beaumont.
Just weeks earlier, Sherwood led the charge to censure two council members for comments made on social media, stating she had “extended grace, and that grace has been expired.” During the Dec. 2, 2025, Beaumont City Council meeting, Sherwood said, “I’m glad we discussed ethics and decorum today because honestly I think some of us have forgotten what either one of them looks like.”
Jan. 23, the morning after the reported hit-and-run, Sherwood posted to her own social media: “Keep my Name out Your Mouth.”
According to a Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report dated Jan. 22, dispatch was notified at 8:17 p.m. of a crash in a private parking lot near the 500 block of Orleans Street, where “Unit 1, a black BMW, backed up and collided with Unit 2, a white BMW 750 and states Unit 1 fled the scene without exchanging information.”
The white BMW is listed as belonging to Stephen Cornwell, the husband of former Mrs. Beaumont Melissa Cornwell.
Local doctor and political candidate Ray Callas, who is currently in the race for Dade Phelan’s District 21 seat, is listed as a witness in the crash report, along with Beaumont attorney Mark Faggard and his significant other, Annette Wade.
“This case is being handled the same as any other hit-and-run investigation,” said Beaumont Police Sgt. Haley Morrow. “It’s under investigation and a summons to municipal court will be issued by the investigating officer once it’s complete.”
Witness account
Faggard said he, Callas and Wade were standing near the parking lot entrance when the incident occurred.
“Ray Callas, Annette, and I were standing close to the entrance to the parking lot talking about the need to amend the Gulf Coast Protection Act when LaDonna and some gentleman I’ve never seen before came walking by us and, next thing we hear, this loud screeching like metal grinding and Ray says, ‘Boy, that didn’t sound very good.’ So, we walked closer to the driveway where you go in and out of the parking lot and we see a black BMW hatchback very close to the white BMW that we later found out belongs to Melissa Cornwell. We were thinking she’s gonna get out and check on things, but that did not happen,” Faggard said.
“The black BMW proceeded to leave the parking lot, and we were just kind of flabbergasted,” he added. “I got tangled up trying to get my phone to work and we walked out into the street and Ray told me what the numbers were — his description of the license plate was one letter off.”
Faggard said they could not clearly see the driver but believed it was a female.
“Ray went in and made an announcement that if you drive a white BMW, come outside, your car got hit, and I noticed the guy that was with her drove back around looking and checking on things,” Faggard said.
“I’ve heard through the grapevine that apparently they had to cut this individual off from drinking, but that is purely hearsay,” he added.
“An elected city official should be held to a higher standard,” Faggard said.
Callas declined to comment.
Vehicle owners speak
Melissa Cornwell said she was attending the gathering when Callas informed her that her vehicle had been struck and that police had been called.
“He and Mark Faggard waited with me to talk to police,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell said the person who hit her car contacted her several days later.
“Late Saturday evening, the person who hit my car got in touch with me and said they didn’t know they had hit me but wanted to do the right thing — it took her a few days, but I’m sure her head was spinning by all the accusations,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell said she and Sherwood met Wednesday morning, Jan. 28, and Sherwood paid for a rental vehicle.
“I just got to the repair shop, and she said the repairs were already paid for, so that’s what we are going to do. Hopefully this will be smooth and over with quickly — I baby that car — there’s a few dents from the back passenger side door to the fender across the tire area and significant black marks all the way down,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell confirmed that $4,483.09 in damages plus the cost of the rental car was paid in full by Sherwood.
“She took full responsibility and was very regretful,” Cornwell said.
When contacted Wednesday morning, Sherwood denied knowingly striking Cornwell’s vehicle.
When asked if she hit the car, Sherwood replied, “Not to my knowledge,” and said there was no damage to her own vehicle.
“Whether I think I did something or not, I stepped up and called this lady and said, ‘Let me help you’ — help somebody that has a problem,” Sherwood said.
Addressing standards for elected officials, Sherwood said it, “is why I showed up for this lady, whether it’s my fault or not — I don’t know anybody that is going to take responsibility for something they know nothing about.”
Sherwood said she has faced accusations since the incident, “saying I’m a druggie, I’m a drunk, all kinds of things.”
“People didn’t elect me because of my past; some is true, some is not,” she said. “I’m an imperfect person,” but one who said she tries to do the right thing.
When asked if she spoke to police or was potentially in any legal trouble because of this, Sherwood responded “No, not that I know of.”
“This is all unnecessary, unfortunate, ungodly… people could have called me if they thought I did something wrong… instead of calling me, they called the police… figured out a way to scandalize my name,’” she said. “In an effort to keep this community first, I did what I think is the right thing to do.
“I show up for things that are not my things.”
Sherwood added that, “Ultimately, God is in control of this… it matters how you handle things.”
When asked if she had been drinking that night, Sherwood replied, “Not more than anybody else.”
Sherwood is the self-ascribed owner of an insurance agency and Nell’s Place, a downtown bar at 500 Franklin St. registered to her husband, Greg Hailey, of Hailey Entertainment, LLC.