HOUSTON – Sheriff's investigators said speed and dangerous driving may be factors in a fatal accident on Veterans Memorial at West Greens.
The crash happened Friday afternoon. It claimed one life and left a trail of destruction.
Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies said the driver of a blue Mustang had been seen by other drivers speeding down Veterans Memorial, at times weaving into oncoming lanes of traffic to pass the cars in front of him.
When the 16-year-old driver reached the intersection at West Greens, Pete Zaragosa was making a left-hand turn.
“The driver in the blue Mustang comes around on my left side and strikes me on my front bumper,” Zaragosa said.
Zaragosa said he wasn't hurt and the damage to his car is minor compared to what happened to the Mustang.
“(He was) flying in between these two poles here and just flipping a good hundred yards away,” he said.
After the Mustang hit Zaragosa's car, he said the Mustang went into a ditch and rolled several times.
Sheriff’s deputies said the car also hit several other cars in a nearby parking lot.
“At the time of the roll, three to four other cars were struck in the parking lot of the business,” said Sgt. James Cabrera.
No one in the parking lot was hurt.
As the Mustang continued rolling, the teen driver and the passenger were thrown out of the car. The teen survived, but the passenger was killed.
Sheriff's officials said the woman in the car with the 16-year-old was his mother.