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  • 3 Dec 2013

A woman was stuck and injured by an SUV on Thanksgiving Day in East Austin, and the alleged perpetrator is now charged with two felonies.

Police say that the victim had been attempting to exit a vehicle that was stopped on Deloney Street, and that a Chevrolet Equinox, driven by Christopher Walton, proceeded to strike her. A witness reports that after the woman was struck, Walton circled the area (the victim was by then lying on the ground), and said “Oh ****, I hit her.” At that point, the witness added, Walton fled on foot. When the police arrived, they traced the registration on the vehicle to a house one block away from the scene of the crash, and discovered Walton in the front yard. They say his eyes were bloodshot, he was slurring his words, and he smelled of alcohol. The woman who was struck was taken to the hospital with what EMS described as “moderate injuries.”

Walton was arrested, and now faces the following charges:

  • Intoxication assault. Section 49.07 of the Texas Penal Code states, in relevant part, that intoxication assault is the causing of serious bodily injury to another person by mistake or accident, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. This is ordinarily a third degree felony.
  • Failure to stop and render aid. Section 550.021 of the Transportation Code requires that the operator of a vehicle involved in an accident causing serious injury or death is under a duty to stop at the scene (or return to the scene), provide information, and render aid to anyone who has been injured. In the case of serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of an accident is also a third degree felony. A lesser punishment (five years maximum prison sentence) applies if the injuries are other than “serious bodily injuries.”

One final note. The injuries were described by EMS as “moderate.” This description is one of six levels on what is known as the “Injury Severity Score,” and is one level below “serious.” Even assuming the description is accurate, the word “serious” is defined, for purposes of Section 550.021, as an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes permanent disfigurement, or impairment or loss of the use of a bodily function. If the injury in this case fits that definition, it could result in a sentence on that charge of up to ten years’ incarceration.

Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1205 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737

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Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
608 W. 12TH ST.
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737
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