Teen charged with intoxication assault after injuring officer, causing vehicle fire
A 17-year-old was charged with intoxication assault in Travis County following an incident that injured an Austin Police officer off Highway 71, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 17-year-old was charged with intoxication assault in Travis County following an incident that injured an Austin police officer off State Highway 71, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
KXAN reached out to the teen's attorney. This story will be updated if a statement is received.
Documents said around 1:40 a.m. Sunday, a transmission was sent over the police radio for an officer down.
“It was apparent by the radio traffic that the Officer, and/or their vehicle, had been struck by a civilian vehicle,” documents said.
Records showed a Drug Recognition Officer responded to investigate the incident.
According to documents, an APD officer was working on a separate crash that occurred on Highway 71 and had the entire service road closed for traffic.
“The highway closure included lit flares, traffic cones, and marked patrol vehicles with emergency lights activated,” documents said.
According to the court documents, a vehicle drove toward the blocked road and tried to veer into an open lane but could not in time. The vehicle “slammed into the back of a marked patrol vehicle at a high rate of speed” and “caught fire as a result of the crash,” documents stated.
At the time of the crash, the APD officer was wearing a traffic vest while getting something from the passenger side of the patrol vehicle, according to documents.
Records said the officer required emergency shoulder surgery on a ruptured artery and had nerve damage, which caused loss of all feeling from the elbow down.
According to court documents, the teen driver that caused the crash exhibited signs of being intoxicated. The teen “admitted to being downtown and to drinking ‘1/3 cup of alcohol,’” documents said.
According to records, two field sobriety tests were administered at the scene, and during a preliminary breath test, the teen had a result of 0.153. The legal limit is 0.08.
Officers also found a THC vape device in the teen's pocket following the crash, documents state.