Suspected underage drunk driver charged after hitting and killing woman whose car broke down on I-45
Video from the scene shows the aftermath of the fiery crash. The vehicles involved were left unrecognizable.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A suspected underage drunk driver is facing manslaughter charges after slamming into a woman whose vehicle broke down on the North Freeway, killing her.
The crash happened along the inbound lanes of I-45 just before the Beltway around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Video from the scene shows the aftermath of the tragic accident. The vehicles involved were left unrecognizable.
Police say the woman's Toyota 4-Runner became stranded in a moving lane on I-45 and she got out.
That's when a 20-year-old man driving a Chevy pickup truck hit the woman, killing her, police said.
Investigators say they believe the truck was speeding on I-45 and did not use the brakes in the moments before hitting the woman.
The impact caused the Chevy pickup truck to catch on fire.
Good Samaritans saw what was happening and jumped into action, pulling the 20-year-old out of his burning vehicle and to safety.
Investigators believe the 20-year-old was intoxicated. He was taken to the hospital.
"We're going to find out out how this individual obtained the alcohol, because there's no 20-year-old that can legally get alcohol anywhere. If he was drinking at an establishment, we're going to go, we're going to find who served him," Harris County Assistant District Attorney Sean Teare said. "We're going to take that person into custody. We're going to prosecute them. If he bought it at a convenience store, we're going to try to find that, and take that teller into custody as well."
The county has accepted a charge of intoxicated manslaughter against the 20-year-old, Teare said.
