Kendrick Owens was walking with a friend after having a sleepover the night before, but investigators say a suspected drunk driver changed everything.
On Saturday night, friends grieved for a young life cut short. Hugs and tears could do little to console Owens' devastated friends. Owens was walking along the side of a road with longtime friend Jared Sheridan when they saw a truck barreling towards them.
"A car was coming at us really fast, but he hit Kendrick and I turned around and Kendrick was on the ground," said Sheridan.
Jared was able to jump out of the way, but Kendrick wasn't as lucky. He was airlifted for treatment, but the injuries would be too severe. Meanwhile, state troopers say the man behind the wheel, Javier Correa, didn't bother to stop. Fortunately, an alert tow truck driver followed him home.
"I got to his house, and told him he's struck a child and he said, 'I didn't hit nobody. I didn't hit nobody.' A few minutes later, the DPS got there, and took him into custody," said tow truck driver Aubrey LeBuff.
"I detained him and brought him back," said DPS Trooper Justin Lopez. "He'd been admitting that he'd been drinking this morning. He's been placed under arrest for failure to stop and render aid and intoxication assault."
Investigators say numerous drivers had called 911reporting that a truck was weaving erratically in and out of traffic before it struck Kendrick. For his devastated friends and family, the arrest of Correa brought some consolation.
"He'll pay his days and the good Lord will get him back," said Jared's father, Roger Sheridan.
But for Jared, he may never comprehend why his friend Kendrick was hit.
"All we could do is try to move out of the way, and he never got to move fast enough," he said.
Saturday night's vigil was held at the New Caney Worship Center. Kendrick's youth pastor described the 13-year-old as a bright young man with an infectious laugh, who touched a lot of lives.
Troopers say Correa failed a field sobriety test. He's in the Montgomery County Jail on a quarter of a million dollars bond.
