HOUSTON – A Houston man was formally charged Sunday after being arrested in connection with a Christmas Day street-racing crash that killed two people and injured two others.
Devante Franklin, 25, was charged with two counts of racing resulting in a death and a count of racing resulting in serious bodily injury, Harris County prosecutors said.
Investigators said Franklin was driving one of two Ford Mustangs that were racing south on State Highway 249. The vehicles reached speeds of more than 100 mph before they slammed into an SUV that was pulling out of a gas station.
The driver of the SUV, identified as Johnny Patterson, and the driver of the other Mustang, identified as Kevin Strong, were killed in the crash.
A third person was injured when one of the Mustangs went into oncoming traffic after hitting Patterson’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
Franklin was not injured.
“Houston’s roadways are not raceways,” said Prosecutor Sean Teare, head of the Vehicular Crimes Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. “This tragedy should never have happened.”
If convicted, Franklin faces up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.