FELONY CHARGES FOR TEEN DRIVER ACCUSED OF INJURING CYCLISTS IN WALLER CO.
The Waller County District Attorney’s Office has announced felony charges for the teenage driver accused of hitting a group of bicyclists with his truck in late September.
The 16-year-old now faces six counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, one charge for each cyclist injured.
The District Attorney’s Office said the teen voluntarily surrendered himself on Monday. He was detained by representatives from the juvenile justice department, where he will remain in custody until further orders from the juvenile court.
The crash occurred on September 25th on Business 290, two miles west of Waller. Witnesses said the driver was attempting to blow diesel fuel smoke onto the cyclists when he drove into them. Several of the cyclists suffered serious injuries.
The District Attorney’s Office was among those who criticized the Waller Police Department’s handling of the investigation, after the teenager was released from the scene by officers after questioning. Waller Police Chief Bill Llewellyn later addressed the criticisms in a lengthy Facebook post, where he admitted the agency “mishandled the initial investigation” and said any shortcomings “are being dealt with internally and will not be repeated.”
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office and DPS assisted the District Attorney’s Office in the investigation.