Jan. 3 (UPI) — Law enforcement officials in Houston arrested a 14-year-old on a murder charge Wednesday for a fatal crash spurred by a prank in which the boy and his friends threw eggs at fellow motorists, the Harris County sheriff said.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said officers booked the boy in the county juvenile detention center after being treated for a broken ankle sustained in the crash.
The crash took place Tuesday after the boy, who was driving an SUV, and two companions allegedly threw eggs at fellow motorists. One, the driver of a 1970s model Lincoln, allegedly chased the teens and brandished a semi-automatic weapon.
While fleeing the Lincoln, the 14-year-old ran a red light and struck a Ford F-150 pickup truck, causing the SUV and the pickup to roll into a nearby ditch, police said.
The driver of the F-150, whom Gonzalez identified as 45-year-old Silvia Zavala, died. The sheriff described the woman as “totally innocent.”
The driver of the Lincoln initially fled the scene, but Gonzalez said officials identified him and “efforts are being made to interview him.”
No one else has been charged in the chase or subsequent crash.
