A Texas teenager thought he was being funny when he swerved his modified F-150 toward two groups of bicyclists training for a triathlon to scare them and hit the gas pedal to blow diesel smoke on them.
He hit one of the groups. Six cyclists were injured; two were airlifted and two more transported to hospitals by ambulance. Weeks later, three are still coping with serious injuries. It’s a miracle no one was killed.
The kid wasn’t arrested for weeks afterward, allegedly because his family is well-connected locally.
After a public outcry, the D.A. charged him with six felony counts of aggravated assault. He’s currently in juvenile detention, but is unlikely to do prison time becvause of his age.
His attorney called him “a new and inexperienced driver” (that’s supposed to explain intentionally swerving toward cyclists to scare them?), and said the kid and his family “continue to pray for the quick recovery of the injured bikers.” (How about paying their medical bills, and money for their pain and suffering?) He’s being sued, so he’d (and whoever owns the truck, if not him) better have a lot of insurance.
How did the 16-year-old get the F-150? With paper route money? Is it his? Who did the expensive “coal rolling” modifications, and paid for that? Who turned him loose on the public highway in this vehicle without adult supervision?
Seems to me there are some grownups who should be called to account for their involvement in this affair.
For more about “coal rolling” (and this accident), read article here.
Photos: Above, a generic “coal roller”; below, the Texas accident scene
