A teenage boy faces a murder charge in Houston after an alleged egg-throwing prank set off a chain of events that ended with a deadly vehicle crash, authorities announced.
Police allege that on Tuesday, a 14-year-old boy was driving two other teenagers in a tan GMC Arcadia when he disregarded a traffic signal and collided with a pickup truck, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
The truck’s driver, identified as 45-year-old Silvia Zavala, was found dead at the scene by paramedics. The suspect, who is currently booked in the county juvenile detention center, sustained a broken ankle, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced on Twitter.
Police allege the that before the crash, the suspect and the other passengers were throwing eggs at passing cars when one car chased them, Gonzalez said in a separate tweet.
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According to multiple reports, police said the driver who chased the teens flashed a semi-automatic handgun at them. That car was an older model gold or yellow Lincoln, with a white top and elbow rims, Gonzalez said.
Describing the victim, Gonzalez wrote on Twitter, “The deceased female was totally innocent; seems she had just gone shopping based on some debris strewn at scene.”
The driver who allegedly chased the teens was located by investigators and is cooperating with the investigation, police said.