INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Teenagers in an SUV had been speeding around nearby streets, throwing eggs at oncoming cars.On New Year's Day, Silvia Zavala climbed into
her red Ford F-150 pickup truck to run some errands in north Houston.The "funny and independent" mother of two had been visiting family in
town for holiday, and had planned to return to her own home that day, her daughter would tell ABC 13 News.What Zavala couldn't have known as
she traveled southbound on Aldine Westfield Road was that, at same time, teenagers in an SUV had been speeding around nearby streets,
throwing eggs at oncoming cars, authorities said.The juvenile prank had caught attention of a man driving a Lincoln, who allegedly flashed a
semiautomatic handgun at teenagers and then began chasing them, Harris County Sheriff's Office said
The SUV - driven by a 14-year-old - sped westbound on Aldine Mail Route Road
At intersection of Aldine Westfield, it ran a red light - and slammed into Zavala's red pickup truck.Zavala, 45, died at scene, authorities
said.Surveillance video from a nearby shopping center captured moments leading up to crash
In footage, red pickup truck disappears from frame briefly as it enters intersection
A second later, a tan SUV can be seen careening into truck with such force that both vehicles are pushed, smoking, off road, coming to rest
near a Walgreen's parking lot.Images of crash site show red pickup truck mangled on its side
Based on debris strewn at scene, it appeared driver of truck had just gone shopping, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.Officials said
teenage driver of SUV, publicly identified only as a male, broke an ankle in crash
He was charged with felony murder and booked into Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, Gonzalez said Wednesday.The driver has been
charged as a juvenile for now, sheriff's spokesman Thomas Gilliland told The Washington Post
In Texas, only a judge can determine later, when a juvenile defendant turns 17 years old, whether to transfer case to an adult charge, he
said.Authorities said Wednesday they had found driver of Lincoln who had allegedly flashed a gun at teens and then chased them, and that he
was cooperating with investigation
That driver, whom police identified as a Hispanic male in his late 20s, has not been charged with anything, Gilliland said.As of Thursday,
two other teen passengers in SUV are not facing any charges; they were released to their parents at scene, Gilliland said.The case remains
under investigation.Meanwhile, Zavala's family is mourning death of mother of two and grandmother of four."She was about to come home and
get her stuff and say bye, and she was about to leave
She couldn't say bye," Jessica Gaspar, Zavala's daughter, told ABC 13 News
"[The teen driver] did what he did
He took my mother's life so he has to pay for what happened."(Except for headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent
staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
