Baytown officer PD indicted following crash that killed 2 children in October, records show

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- A police officer has been indicted following a crash that killed two young children in Baytown in October, according to court records.

Records say that a jury returned an indictment of two charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against Officer Michael Hightower.

The crash happened at the intersection of Goose Creek and West Baker Road just after 7 p.m. on Oct. 23.

ORGINAL REPORT: 2 children, officer airlifted to hospital following deadly crash in Baytown, officials say

The Baytown Police Department said the on-duty officer was driving a marked patrol at the time. Officials said a van was also being driven by a woman with five young children inside.

Two of the five children, ages 8 and 10, had to be airlifted to the hospital, where they died from their injuries following the crash. The extent of the other four passengers' injuries was unknown.

Officer Hightower also suffered a leg injury and was taken to the hospital as well, BPD confirmed.

Court documents now state that Officer Hightower is to blame for the crash, noting that he was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed without his lights or sirens.

Officials did not say whether Hightower was responding to a call at the time of the crash or why he was allegedly driving fast.

A crash report has revealed some new details on the moments leading up to the crash. The report obtained by ABC13 states that Hightower was on West Baker and had a green light at the Goose Creek intersection, while the woman driving the van had a blinking yellow arrow and attempted to turn from Goose Creek onto West Baker. The report states that because of Hightower's speed, the reaction time of the person driving the van was impacted.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office filed the charges on Friday, before Hightower turned himself in the following Monday, officials said.

He was on medical leave due to the crash from the department, where he was said to have worked for two years.

Court records confirmed that he has since posted his $150,000 bond.

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