KATY, Texas – A driver is dead and another has been arrested after deputies say two vehicles were street racing in the Katy area.
Harris County Sheriff Office deputies responded to reports of a deadly street racing crash on Clay Road near the Grand Parkway around 5:30 p.m.
Court records show that a 20-year-old driver of a Chevrolet Camaro and a 20-year-old driver of a Ford Mustang were racing at high speed eastbound in the 22300 block of Clay Road.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a tanker truck was turning into a Shell gas station when the driver of the Camaro, traveling at a high rate of speed, drove underneath the trailer and begin rotating east.
Deputies said the driver of the Camaro was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries in the crash.
“That mustang over there, it was racing another guy. He drove under that tanker, 18 wheeler, right there and he died,” said Elliot Childs, a witness.
The driver of the Mustang missed the tanker truck and hit a concrete median in the process, court records show. The driver of the Mustang made a U-turn at SH-99 and returned to the scene, according to court documents. The driver admitted that he was racing the driver of the Camaro, who was a close friend of his, according to court documents.
The driver of the Mustang, 20-year-old Oluwatise Gbadebo, was arrested and charged with racing involving death.
“I just can’t believe they’re out there racing in the middle of the day like this,” Childs said.
This crash is under investigation by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Vehicular Crimes Division.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it has handled three other street racing accidents so far this year that involved fatalities. The average age of the male victims in all four incidents is 22.