Waller County, Texas hates Bicyclists AND Blacks

[Tommymac]

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/waller-bicyclists-hit-truck-teen-driver-ironman-16490862.php
Teen who ran over 6 cyclists outside Houston walks free
Authorities are tight-lipped about whether or not the teenager would face any charges after the fact.
It is not clear why the teenager was not immediately arrested. Representatives at the Waller County District Attorney's Office did not answer questions about the case but instead referred to a Facebook post saying it is still under investigation by police.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sandra_Bland
Death of Sandra Bland
Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a pretextual traffic stop.[1][2] Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protests against her arrest, disputing the cause of death and alleging racial violence against her.[3][4]

Bland was pulled over for a minor traffic violation on July 10 by State Trooper Brian Encinia. The exchange escalated, resulting in Bland's arrest and a charge of assaulting a police officer. The arrest was partially recorded by Encinia's dashcam, a bystander's cell phone, and Bland's own cell phone. After authorities reviewed the dashcam footage, Encinia was placed on administrative leave for failing to follow proper traffic stop procedures.[5][6]

That is all.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Waller is a very red neck county other than Prairie View A&M

This does not surprise me

[Tommymac]

2. I hope any corporations looking to expand stay away from Waller County.

...to hurt them in their pocketbooks and to help get the rednecks out of office.

I'm sure the majority of folks in that place are reasonably sane and not down with what goes on there...at least that is my hope.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. I have been to some functions with the Waller Democratic Party

The former president of the Waller party was a delegate with me to the Philadelphia convention. Waller is very rural which is why the bike rides like it. I doubt that industry will be moving there

[Tommymac]

4. Thanks. I was unaware of the demographics.

But it is still a shame that anachronisms such as these pols are still around in the 21st century.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Waller has been trying to disenfranchise the students at Praire View A&M for decades

There has been one SCOTUS ruling on this. The county outside a handful of Democrats is very racist

[joetheman]

6. One of the worst places in Texas for humanity. nt

[ZonkerHarris]

7. Waller County is pretty fucking corrupt cop-wise so expect no charges

[jeffreyi]

8. I hope the cyclists can sue in civil court.

[uponit7771]

13. This should be a slam dunk case no doubt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Being white evidently is a good defense

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Special prosecutor assigned to case of 6 cyclists who were hit by teen driver, lawyers say

Link to tweet

WALLER COUNTY, Texas — The attorneys for the cyclists hit by a truck in Waller County said a special prosecutor has been assigned to the case by the Waller County District Attorney.

The case garnered national attention after the teenage driver who allegedly hit the cyclists on Sept. 25, was let go without being charged or ticketed, even though witnesses said the teen had been “rolling coal” on the cyclists before the crash.


The cyclists were training for Ironman Texas at the time. Their lawyers, Bike Law Texas' Charlie Thomas of Huber Thomas & Marcelle, LLP and Bike Law's founding attorney Peter Wilborn Law, LLC, said the teen had been antagonizing the cyclists leading up to the collision. All six were taken to the hospital; two by helicopter and two by ambulance.

Bike Law said its clients' injuries include traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries and broken bones.

On their website, Bike Law alleges the officer who responded to the scene never questioned the victims at the scene and point to bias because of who the teen’s family is, writing in part, “[the] driver’s family connections in Waller are a legitimate reason for concern.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. PRESS RELEASE FROM BIKE LAW'S NATIONAL DIRECTOR RACHAEL MANEY

I was not aware that there is a bike law national organization. I have three partners who avid bikers but was not aware of this group

Link to tweet

Bike Law Texas’ Charlie Thomas of Huber Thomas & Marcelle, LLP and Bike Law’s founding attorney Peter Wilborn of Wilborn Law, LLC were retained last Sunday, September, 26, 2021, the day after the multi-victim bicycle crash on Business 290 East in Waller, TX, to lead the civil investigation and represent all 6 of the cyclists who were almost killed while on a training ride for Ironman Texas exactly one week ago today.

Our 6 clients are suffering from horrible injuries including broken vertebrae, cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, broken collar bones, hands, and wrists- many of which require surgical intervention- as well as multiple traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, soft tissue damage, road rash, and extensive bruising. And those are just the physical injuries.

The driver of the black F-250 that crushed our clients’ bodies and left them and their bikes splashed and scattered across the roadway is a 16 year old Waller, Texas male. Through our own investigation, we’ve learned his name, his address, the names of his parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors and family friends. We know the names of the businesses owned and operated by the driver’s family. We know where he was earlier in the day, prior to crashing into our clients while they were more than 70 miles into their USAT tri-club training ride. We know the identity of his passenger (a local 17 year old male from a neighboring town) and a pretty good idea about the role he may have played in causing the crash that sent ALL of our clients to the hospital; 2 by Life Flight, 2 by ambulance, 2 by personal transport. (Texas licensing provisions allow for licensed drivers between the ages of 16-17 to lawfully operate a motor vehicle with no more than 1 non-family member passenger who is under the age of 21 at a time.)

The driver’s family’s connections in Waller are a legitimate reason for concern, but I know that Charlie and Peter are very well versed in handling the challenges that nepotism can create. ....

The backdrop of the Waller Bike Crash is one riddled with anti-bike bias. Charlie knows all too well as he has recent experiences with judges there, one who actually lamented to him that Waller, TX “doesn’t like [our] kind.” Charlie has formerly represented several cyclists who were targeted and ticketed by Waller police over the last couple of years. He went to Texas A&M in College Station to race bicycles and he has a law office in Houston. He has been a dogged legal advocate (alongside Bike Law Texas’ partner BikeHouston) for the changes needed to make cycling safer both locally and on a state-wide scale. This advocacy includes exposing and fighting against those who choose to selectively enforce the law for only a select few.....

We also know that this was no “accident” caused by a “new and inexperienced” driver as his criminal defense attorney would like people to believe. Rick DeToto, who has been retained to represent the teenage driver, went so far as to say that this event “did not involve any criminal intent.” After 23 years of representing bicyclists and bike crash victims, we know that when there is no real defense to proffer, turning a perpetrator into a victim is the only limp “defense” that exists. ....

Elton Mathis, the Waller County elected DA, is now in charge of the criminal investigation into the Waller Bike Crash. He’s assigned a Special Prosecutor for this case, Warren Diepraam, who does not reside in (nor is he from) Waller County. He was handpicked because of his investigative and prosecutorial work across multiple Texas jurisdictions.

Mr. Diepraam was formerly a prosecutor in Harris and Montgomery counties. While in Harris, he formed the first ever vehicular crimes division in the state of Texas. Additionally, Mr. Mathis and Mr. Diepraam have hired a crash reconstruction engineer to fully investigate and understand what occurred leading up to the 6 bicyclists being struck.

Currently, victim interviews between the prosecutors and our clients are being scheduled. Waller PD did not ask for a single statement from any of them at the scene of the crash or at the hospitals to which they were transported, and all 6 bicyclists were conscious and wanted to participate in the Waller PD led “investigation” at the scene. One witness who was riding behind our clients and the other smaller group of cyclists who were assaulted when the driver coal-rolled them told us that while she was tending to two of the most seriously injured bicyclists, the only thing Officer Charles Mistric said to her (she was not asked to provide a witness statement either, nor was her contact information taken by any Waller PD officer at the scene to provide a statement at a later date or time) was that [the crash victims] would need [his business card] and that the crash report “would take at least 10 days,”as he handed the card to her with the hand-written report number on it.

[Tommymac]

12. Thank You for this important follow up. nt

[Liberal In Texas]

14. The kid needs to spend the next 20 years thinking about what he did....

in a very small room with bars for a door.