Police Mishandled Crash That Injured 6 Cyclists: Waller County DA

WALLER COUNTY, TX — The investigation into a Sept. 25 crash that injured six cyclists was mishandled by law enforcement, the Waller County District Attorney's Office said Monday.

The crash happened on Old Highway 290 in Waller County when a 16-year-old driver hit the cyclists with his Ford Super Duty pickup truck. Four of the victims were taken to the hospital and have since been released.

Witnesses of the accident said the driver was attempting to "roll coal" on the cyclists.

After public silence on the case since vowing to get to the bottom of the incident on Sept. 29, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis criticized the Waller Police Department investigation in a post on his personal Facebook page Monday.

"This case was not handled appropriately by the investigating agency. PERIOD," Mathis said in the Facebook post. "Despite being encouraged by the Texas Department of Public Safety to treat the scene as a crime scene and to contact the D.A.'s Office for advice on how to proceed, the investigating agency chose not to do so."

The teen, who also had an adult passenger in the truck during the crash, was not arrested following the incident and has not been charged with any crime. The District Attorney's Office will decide what charges are best suited for the incident and present that information to a grand jury, likely in October or November. In his previous public statement, Mathis said that intentionally blowing exhaust on bystanders would "at minimum" be assault.

Mathis also addressed community speculation regarding the teen, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, and possible connections with city officials.

"At this point we can confirm there are some connections but have yet to see evidence of a city official directing the officer on the scene as to how to handle this particular situation," Mathis said. "We will continue to look for any such criminal interference as the investigation proceeds."

Mathis assured all sides — the victims and their friends and family as well as the driver, passenger and their families — that the case would not be "swept away" and would be conducted fairly.

"This will not be a lynching, and likewise it will not be a case of small county politics making problems just go away," Mathis said.