HOUSTON – A driver was charged with intoxication manslaughter after a woman was fatally struck by a car moments after feeding stray dogs Saturday evening in northeast Houston, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
At around 6 p.m. Saturday in the 8200 block of John Ralston Road, a car was traveling down the street at a high rate of speed, lost control, crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a female cyclist. The car carried the woman a few hundred feet before it crashed into a tree and threw the woman further.
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Witnesses at the scene pulled the driver from the car. The man was transported to an area hospital.
The female cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. An emptied bag of dog food was found at the crash site and deputies found what appears to be a dog leash lodged in the grill of the car, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses told investigators the woman came to the location every day to feed stray dogs. They also reported that the car was traveling at speeds of over 100 mph just before the crash.
Based on preliminary information investigators suspected the driver was high on drugs at the time of the crash, said Sean Teare, head of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office vehicular crime division. A blood draw was conducted and the man was charged with intoxication manslaughter. Once he’s discharged from the hospital, he will he will be taken to the Joint Processing Center and on to jail, said Teare.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.