Innocent driver killed after woman runs NW Houston red light while fleeing another crash, police say
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman is dead after investigators say she was struck by a woman who ran a red light in northwest Houston.
The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Antoine and West Gulf Bank Road. Police say the driver was upset moments before the crash.
According to Sean Teare with the Harris County District Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Division, the at-fault driver, 28-year-old Lohortenes Sanders, had just left a nearby apartment complex after getting into some sort of fight.
Investigators say Sanders hit a parked car while trying to leave and fled the scene, traveling eastbound on West Gulf Bank Road towards the intersection.
While fleeing from the first crash, investigators say Sanders ran a red light and collided with an innocent driver who was heading northbound on Antoine, driving through the intersection.
The impact from the crash ejected 52-year-old Tammy King Young from her car. Investigators say she was then run over by her own vehicle. Sadly, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Young's family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for her funeral costs.
The fatal accident shut down the intersection for several hours.
"The at-fault driver was transported to the hospital. She is being evaluated as we speak to see if intoxication played a role in this," Teare said. "The initial signs are that intoxication wasn't at play here, but we are going to do all of our due diligence and find that out."
The district attorney's office has accepted the charge of criminally negligent homicide for Sanders, and Teare says the charge can be upgraded to either intoxication manslaughter or manslaughter pending further investigation.
According to AAA, deaths caused by running red lights were the highest they had been in 10 years in 2017, killing 939 people.
Their experts say you should wait at least three seconds after the light changes to green when you're first at an intersection just in case someone runs a red light.
