Joshua Ivie, 33, was due in court on Tuesday, but did not appear.
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He is charged with failure to stop and render aid (death) and felon in possession of a weapon in the crash that killed 44-year-old Carolee Dwyer, who authorities said was visiting from out of town. Sunday, the day she was killed, was her first day in the area.
The crash happened just before 9 p.m. in the 13800 block of West Cypress Forest Drive near Grant and Jones Roads.
Court paperwork said that Ivie stated he was driving down West Cypress Forest at approximately 90 miles per hour and swerved to avoid hitting two other vehicles. That's when he slammed into the house.
Dwyer was walking along the street. During the crash, she was pinned against the house, and died at the scene.
The homeowner, Jerome Portele, told ABC13 he was sitting in the next room watching TV when he heard a loud bang.
Eyewitness News reporter Alex Bozarjian asked Portele at what point he realized someone had died in the crash.
"When they told me to come out of the house because it was a murder scene," Portele, who wasn't hurt, said.
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Josiah Cantu, a father of four, told ABC13 he was on the way home with his family when they saw the crash. He said he stopped to check on everyone and ended up getting more than he bargained for.
Ivie started to walk away from the scene, and when Cantu called after him, the witness says that Ivie showed him a gun and said, "You better back off."
"I just said, 'Hey look, I don't want any problems.' I backed up from him, and I turned my attention away from him and focused on the vehicle and everybody else that might have been involved in the incident at the house," Cantu said.
Court documents corroborate what Cantu described of the suspect raising his shirt to show a handgun in his waistband before running away in the neighborhood.
K-9 deputies tracked Ivie down and arrested him about a mile away. He was still armed, the sheriff's office said.
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Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said it doesn't appear there were any passengers with Ivie in the vehicle he was driving, a newer-model Ford Explorer, though investigators did find two child car seats inside.
Meanwhile, repairs have already started on Portele's house.
He says he's lived in the home for five decades and even drew the floor plan. Seeing it like this, he said, is heartbreaking.
"I raised a family here," Portele said with tears.
According to court documents, Ivie has multiple previous convictions across the state, including assault of a family member, car theft, and burglary.
The video above is from a previous report.