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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDA hints at possible charges for Texas teen who ran over 6 cyclists while 'rolling coal'
As detectives continue their investigation into what happened Saturday afternoon when a 16-year-old plowed his truck into a crowd of cyclists riding outside Houston, the Waller County district attorney's office hinted Wednesday at possible charges that could soon be filed against the driver.
The teen was driving a large black Ford Super Duty pickup along Old Highway 290 in Waller when he hit six cyclists who were training for the Ironman Triathlon. Witnesses said the teen was trying to blow thick exhaust onto the group before hitting them. The teen's attorney, Houston-based lawyer Rick DeToto, called the incident a "serious accident" but one that "did not involve any criminal intent."
Police interviewed the teen but let him go from the scene without charges.
This 'kid' should be thrown in a cell.
EDIT: Source:
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/teen-hits-cyclists-waller-da-charges-arrest-update-16497039.php
Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)with their big ol' pick em up trucks?
YeeeeeeeeHawwwwww !!!
This punk is a menace.
tenderfoot
(8,438 posts)eom
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)I don't know how Mom and Dad are going to feel about paying for Junior's shenanigans, but since Junior had to learn his murderous hatred from somewhere, Mom and Dad may not be as appalled as everyone else.
FelineOverlord
(3,590 posts)Does he suffer from affluenza?
cinematicdiversions
(1,969 posts)He basically attacked wealthy white people. He may not like this well-deserved outcome.
America has no issue throwing rednecks in prison. There are entire states with a large prison population of poor whites.
central scrutinizer
(11,661 posts)Theres a lot of road rage vented on cyclists. Im struggling to get by in this pandemic and these pricks are out having fun.
marble falls
(57,208 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)marble falls
(57,208 posts)yardwork
(61,706 posts)BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)necessary when you do something godawfully stupid and irresponsible.
A bigger problem is with his age and whether to charge him as an adult.
Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)harumph
(1,915 posts)shows criminal intent. If the smoke was produced, it would at least qualify as simple assault - analogous to throwing water in someone's face.
Even if the black smoke was never produced, his loss of vehicle control resulted from his intent to commit assault.
If I picked up an object and feigned to throw it at someone's face and the person in an attempt to avoid the object
they reasonably fear is being thrown at them slipped and fell - well, I'm liable.
DBoon
(22,397 posts)This is Texas we are talking about
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,558 posts)Link to tweet
The case garnered national attention after the teenage driver who allegedly hit the cyclists on Sept. 25, was let go without being charged or ticketed, even though witnesses said the teen had been rolling coal on the cyclists before the crash.
The cyclists were training for Ironman Texas at the time. Their lawyers, Bike Law Texas' Charlie Thomas of Huber Thomas & Marcelle, LLP and Bike Law's founding attorney Peter Wilborn Law, LLC, said the teen had been antagonizing the cyclists leading up to the collision. All six were taken to the hospital; two by helicopter and two by ambulance.
Bike Law said its clients' injuries include traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries and broken bones.
On their website, Bike Law alleges the officer who responded to the scene never questioned the victims at the scene and point to bias because of who the teens family is, writing in part, [the] drivers family connections in Waller are a legitimate reason for concern.
Wingus Dingus
(8,059 posts)mowing down six people with his truck while trying to make them choke on diesel exhaust. Not even a ticket?
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,558 posts)The kid is white and evidently from a good family which means politically well connected
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,558 posts)I was not aware that there is a bike law national organization. I have three partners who avid bikers but was not aware of this group
Link to tweet
Our 6 clients are suffering from horrible injuries including broken vertebrae, cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, broken collar bones, hands, and wrists- many of which require surgical intervention- as well as multiple traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, soft tissue damage, road rash, and extensive bruising. And those are just the physical injuries.
The driver of the black F-250 that crushed our clients bodies and left them and their bikes splashed and scattered across the roadway is a 16 year old Waller, Texas male. Through our own investigation, weve learned his name, his address, the names of his parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors and family friends. We know the names of the businesses owned and operated by the drivers family. We know where he was earlier in the day, prior to crashing into our clients while they were more than 70 miles into their USAT tri-club training ride. We know the identity of his passenger (a local 17 year old male from a neighboring town) and a pretty good idea about the role he may have played in causing the crash that sent ALL of our clients to the hospital; 2 by Life Flight, 2 by ambulance, 2 by personal transport. (Texas licensing provisions allow for licensed drivers between the ages of 16-17 to lawfully operate a motor vehicle with no more than 1 non-family member passenger who is under the age of 21 at a time.)
The drivers familys connections in Waller are a legitimate reason for concern, but I know that Charlie and Peter are very well versed in handling the challenges that nepotism can create. ....
The backdrop of the Waller Bike Crash is one riddled with anti-bike bias. Charlie knows all too well as he has recent experiences with judges there, one who actually lamented to him that Waller, TX doesnt like [our] kind. Charlie has formerly represented several cyclists who were targeted and ticketed by Waller police over the last couple of years. He went to Texas A&M in College Station to race bicycles and he has a law office in Houston. He has been a dogged legal advocate (alongside Bike Law Texas partner BikeHouston) for the changes needed to make cycling safer both locally and on a state-wide scale. This advocacy includes exposing and fighting against those who choose to selectively enforce the law for only a select few.....
We also know that this was no accident caused by a new and inexperienced driver as his criminal defense attorney would like people to believe. Rick DeToto, who has been retained to represent the teenage driver, went so far as to say that this event did not involve any criminal intent. After 23 years of representing bicyclists and bike crash victims, we know that when there is no real defense to proffer, turning a perpetrator into a victim is the only limp defense that exists. ....
Elton Mathis, the Waller County elected DA, is now in charge of the criminal investigation into the Waller Bike Crash. Hes assigned a Special Prosecutor for this case, Warren Diepraam, who does not reside in (nor is he from) Waller County. He was handpicked because of his investigative and prosecutorial work across multiple Texas jurisdictions.
Mr. Diepraam was formerly a prosecutor in Harris and Montgomery counties. While in Harris, he formed the first ever vehicular crimes division in the state of Texas. Additionally, Mr. Mathis and Mr. Diepraam have hired a crash reconstruction engineer to fully investigate and understand what occurred leading up to the 6 bicyclists being struck.
Currently, victim interviews between the prosecutors and our clients are being scheduled. Waller PD did not ask for a single statement from any of them at the scene of the crash or at the hospitals to which they were transported, and all 6 bicyclists were conscious and wanted to participate in the Waller PD led investigation at the scene. One witness who was riding behind our clients and the other smaller group of cyclists who were assaulted when the driver coal-rolled them told us that while she was tending to two of the most seriously injured bicyclists, the only thing Officer Charles Mistric said to her (she was not asked to provide a witness statement either, nor was her contact information taken by any Waller PD officer at the scene to provide a statement at a later date or time) was that [the crash victims] would need [his business card] and that the crash report would take at least 10 days,as he handed the card to her with the hand-written report number on it.
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,558 posts)The driver needs to be convicted of some serious charges
Link to tweet
A motor vehicle can be a deadly weapon and if you recklessly cause injury to somebody thats classified as a 2nd-degree felony," said Warren Diepraam, the special prosecutor who says he's dedicated his career to traffic safety prosecution.
Now, hes asking anyone who might have pictures and video to come forward.
The crash on Saturday spent six cyclists to the hospital. The injuries ranging from traumatic brain and spinal injuries to broken bones.
Essentially what weve heard is there were two other groups of bicyclists that he aggressively passed, pulled in front of and engaged in the exact same conduct."
The allegation being investigated is that the teen driver was rolling coal, creating a cloud of smoke behind his truck a dangerous situation for cyclists.