Texas teen charged in death stemming from egg-throwing prank: police

[JacksinPA]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-from-egg-throwing-prank-police-idUSKCN1OW1HH

(Reuters) - Texas authorities on Wednesday charged a teenager with murder after a prank that began when he and passengers in the car he was driving threw eggs at other vehicles ended in a crash that killed a 45-year-old woman, authorities said.

The 14-year-old boy, who was not identified, and two teenage passengers in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) he was driving “were reportedly throwing eggs at other cars just prior to the crash,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on Twitter. Harris County contains Houston.
===========================================
I saw video of this wreck on TV last night & this kid should be put away for a long time for criminal negligence resulting in death. But since this is Texas, they might as well execute him. It's their state tradition.

 

[ttwtt78640]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-from-egg-throwing-prank-police-idUSKCN1OW1HH

(Reuters) - Texas authorities on Wednesday charged a teenager with murder after a prank that began when he and passengers in the car he was driving threw eggs at other vehicles ended in a crash that killed a 45-year-old woman, authorities said.

The 14-year-old boy, who was not identified, and two teenage passengers in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) he was driving “were reportedly throwing eggs at other cars just prior to the crash,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on Twitter. Harris County contains Houston.
===========================================
I saw video of this wreck on TV last night & this kid should be put away for a long time for criminal negligence resulting in death. But since this is Texas, they might as well execute him. It's their state tradition.

The egg throwing was not the cause of death - those teens could have been doing any number of annoying things (misdemeanor crimes?) to get some jerk to threaten them with a gun and chase them.

A man who showed a handgun began to chase the teens in his own vehicle, leading the 14-year-old driver to speed through a red light and crash into a pickup truck driven by 45-year-old Silvia Zavala, who died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The unlicensed 14-year-old should definitely not have been driving yet would not have sped through a red light if not being chased by an armed moron who had apparently threatened him.

 

[JacksinPA]

The egg throwing was not the cause of death - those teens could have been doing any number of annoying things (misdemeanor crimes?) to get some jerk to threaten them with a gun and chase them.



The unlicensed 14-year-old should definitely not have been driving yet would not have sped through a red light if not being chased by an armed moron who had apparently threatened him.

Texas has always been a leader in arming its citizenry. I guess you could file this incident under 'Unintended Consequences.'

 

[ttwtt78640]

Texas has always been a leader in arming its citizenry. I guess you could file this incident under 'Unintended Consequences.'

The Texas law is quite unclear on when one can make a citizens arrest (because it includes "an offense against the public peace") but clear on when deadly force may be employed. Whether a threat with a gun (brandishing?) counts as deadly force is also unclear.

Texas law seems to make brandishing a gun illegal:

Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:

(8) displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm;

The sheriff’s office on Wednesday said investigators had located and interviewed the driver of the car that chased the teens. They did not name the driver of the second car.

The teens were not merely chased they appear to have been threatened with a gun (which is a crime) and then chased. This will be an interesting court case - if not simply settled with a plea deal.

 

[Bodi]

I don't think murder is even applicable... negligent homicide yes. Lock him and the others up. Yes. Ban driving for all three for life. Yes.

 

[Tom Horn]

Uncle Buck threatening Bug with a hatchet.

 

[Praxas]

The unlicensed 14-year-old should definitely not have been driving yet would not have sped through a red light if not being chased by an armed moron who had apparently threatened him.

Do you think a 16 year old (hell even a 21 year old) would have been able to handle it better? I don't. There isn't anything that can actually really "prepare" someone for that unless they receive some specialized training on it.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Do you think a 16 year old (hell even a 21 year old) would have been able to handle it better? I don't. There isn't anything that can actually really "prepare" someone for that unless they receive some specialized training on it.

There were clearly many wrongs (both crimes and bad judgement calls) leading up to that innocent woman's death. To blame only the kid driving without a license is not justice, IMHO. Older folks would not likely have engaged in either criminal egg throwing or unlicensed driving. A more sensible armed citizen would not have criminally brandished a gun or given chase for simply witnessing a misdemeanor crime in progress. Had the concerned citizen simply noted the tag number of the egg throwing kids and reported it to police then there is a very good chance that woman would be alive and well.

 

[Praxas]

There were clearly many wrongs (both crimes and bad judgement calls) leading up to that innocent woman's death. To blame only the kid driving without a license is not justice, IMHO. Older folks would not likely have engaged in either criminal egg throwing or unlicensed driving. A more sensible armed citizen would not have criminally brandished a gun or given chase for simply witnessing a misdemeanor crime in progress. Had the concerned citizen simply noted the tag number of the egg throwing kids and reported it to police then there is a very good chance that woman would be alive and well.

Yeah, I agree, there isn't anything in there I disagree with there.

 

[joko104]

It would seem the man with the gun chasing the 14 year old is who should be charged.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Yeah, I agree, there isn't anything in there I disagree with there.

My only disagreement was with police not charging the gun brandishing moron that gave chase with at least disorderly conduct. Absent that part of the chain of events, the chase leading (causing?) the scared kid to run a light, which was the event that killed the innocent woman, would likely not have occurred..

 

[longview]

Do you think a 16 year old (hell even a 21 year old) would have been able to handle it better? I don't. There isn't anything that can actually really "prepare" someone for that unless they receive some specialized training on it.

So far it is only the teens involved who claim to have seen a gun.
The driver chasing them did not stop, but we really do not know if the boys are telling the truth.
I would not be surprised, if someone had a gun in their vehicle, as it is common and legal, but proving that
they showed it to the boys would be difficult.
The other driver is in trouble for not stopping anyway, likely some type of felony.

 

[longview]

My only disagreement was with police not charging the gun brandishing moron that gave chase with at least disorderly conduct. Absent that part of the chain of events, the chase leading (causing?) the scared kid to run a light, which was the event that killed the innocent woman, would likely not have occurred..

Except that we do not know if that part of the story is true, the other driver did not stop, so we are left with some unknowns.

 

[ttwtt78640]

It would seem the man with the gun chasing the 14 year old is who should be charged.

Not alone, because all he could likely be charged with is disorderly conduct for brandishing his gun. The kid was guilty of vandalism and unlicensed driving at the least - even if you gave him a pass for running the light.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Except that we do not know if that part of the story is true, the other driver did not stop, so we are left with some unknowns.

I'm not so sure either but the police did talk to him.

The sheriff’s office on Wednesday said investigators had located and interviewed the driver of the car that chased the teens. They did not name the driver of the second car.

If he admitted to giving chase (as the kids had claimed) then there is good chance that he also brandished a gun (as the kids had claimed). The fact that the chasing driver witnessed the crash and decided not to hang around raises my suspicions as to why he (the good samaritan?) left.

 

[longview]

I'm not so sure either but the police did talk to him.



If he admitted to giving chase (as the kids had claimed) then there is good chance that he also brandished a gun (as the kids had claimed). The fact that the chasing driver witnessed the crash and decided not to hang around raises my suspicions as to why he (the good samaritan?) left.

You are right, that was further down in the story.

The driver of the Continental has had very limited conversations with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Teare also said authorities found no evidence of an alleged gun being flashed by the driver in the Continental to the teens at this time.

I am not so sure about the gun part, it seems like that would have come out early in the kids story.

 

[ttwtt78640]

You are right, that was further down in the story.

I am not so sure about the gun part, it seems like that would have come out early in the kids story.

If not from the kids' story then who was the gun brandishing mentioned by? Why did the chasing car driver leave the scene of the accident? Perhaps because he was a bit tipsy and did have a gun which he illegally brandished?

 

[longview]

If not from the kids' story then who was the gun brandishing mentioned by? Why did the chasing car driver leave the scene of the accident? Perhaps because he was a bit tipsy and did have a gun which he illegally brandished?

If the deputy questioned him, then he left the scene, when he was allowed to leave, if they thought he was tipsy,
or if the teens had mentioned he was chasing them with a gun, I think the deputy would have searched the vehicle,
since it was involved in an accident, he would have had justification.
I think the deputy found the second drivers story believable, but they sure were driving fast.

 

[southwest88]

If he survives incarceration - not likely, on the evidence so far ...

Do you think a 16 year old (hell even a 21 year old) would have been able to handle it better? I don't. There isn't anything that can actually really "prepare" someone for that unless they receive some specialized training on it.

The mass media seem to be full of stories of road rage & armed drivers who take the slightest setback personally, & decide to set things right by using their firearm. Has the offending driver never watched the news, read a newspaper, listened to other drivers talk about their experiences while driving?

A rational 14-year-old would have known better than to

1. Drive a car without a license, let alone insurance. (Did he even have permission? Unlikely, because if he did, then the person who gave him permission - the car's owner? - should be joining him in the docket, as contributing to the recklessness of a minor. Aiding & abetting manslaughter?)
2. Go joyriding & throwing eggs @ others cars, not knowing or caring if those other drivers were armed.
3. Flee an enraged driver, to the point of driving @ high speed, ignoring traffic signals. A moment's thought, & he would have realized that a fatal accident was likely, as a result.

 

[Tom Horn]

So far it is only the teens involved who claim to have seen a gun.
The driver chasing them did not stop, but we really do not know if the boys are telling the truth.
I would not be surprised, if someone had a gun in their vehicle, as it is common and legal, but proving that
they showed it to the boys would be difficult.
The other driver is in trouble for not stopping anyway, likely some type of felony.

yes. Failure to render aid is a felony in TEXAS.

 

[longview]

yes. Failure to render aid is a felony in TEXAS.

It sound like he did stop, later in the article it said he spoke with the deputy.

 

[Tom Horn]

It sound like he did stop, later in the article it said he spoke with the deputy.

Speaking with the cop isn’t rendering aid. Did he assist in helping the woman in the truck?

 

[longview]

Speaking with the cop isn’t rendering aid. Did he assist in helping the woman in the truck?

If he was talking to the deputies, we should assume he was at the seen. I think stopping was all that was required,
and we cannot say that actually happened ether. If he did not stop it is a crime.

 

[Praxas]

Re: If he survives incarceration - not likely, on the evidence so far ...

The mass media seem to be full of stories of road rage & armed drivers who take the slightest setback personally, & decide to set things right by using their firearm. Has the offending driver never watched the news, read a newspaper, listened to other drivers talk about their experiences while driving?

A rational 14-year-old would have known better than to

1. Drive a car without a license, let alone insurance. (Did he even have permission? Unlikely, because if he did, then the person who gave him permission - the car's owner? - should be joining him in the docket, as contributing to the recklessness of a minor. Aiding & abetting manslaughter?)
2. Go joyriding & throwing eggs @ others cars, not knowing or caring if those other drivers were armed.
3. Flee an enraged driver, to the point of driving @ high speed, ignoring traffic signals. A moment's thought, & he would have realized that a fatal accident was likely, as a result.

Sorry but regardless of what the teens did, and yes I agree a rational person wouldn't have done that, but the minute a gun is shown? Sorry, all bets are off and I don't care if you are a 14 year old or a 21 year old, the minute a gun is shown to you in that manner and they chase AFTER YOU, I don't think anyone would have acted differently without training or having that done to them before.

Did what the teens do was wrong? Yes. Did it deserve someone showing a gun and then chasing after them? No.

 

[Tom Horn]

If he was talking to the deputies, we should assume he was at the seen. I think stopping was all that was required,
and we cannot say that actually happened ether. If he did not stop it is a crime.

the county prosecutor should decide if they wish to prosecute him or not for not rendering aid.