BRENHAM, Texas (AP) — A Texas semitrailer driver rammed a stolen 18-wheeler into a public safety building where his renewal for a commercial driver’s license had been rejected, killing one person and injuring 13 others, authorities said Friday.
The driver, identified as Clenard Parker, 42, was pulled out of the truck by authorities after smashing his truck into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in the rural town of Brenham, outside of Houston, Sgt. Justin Ruiz.
Authorities say Parker was taken to jail but did not say what charges he would face.
Two people were flown to CHI St. Joseph’s in Bryan, one was flown to Memorial Hermann in Houston and three people were trasnported to Bayor Scott and White in Brenham and have been released. Eight people were treated on the scene. Kolkhorst said in the statement that no DPS staff suffered serious injuries and one staffer was trapped “for a period of time” in the building.
“This deliberate, heinous act is a reminder of the dangerous work done by our law enforcement and licensing agencies that work to provide public safety and services,” Kolkhorst said in the statement.
Texas DPS officials said in a social media post on X that the crash happened at the agency’s office in Brenham, Texas, located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Houston and requested people avoid the area to clear the way for responding medical personnel.
A suspect is in custody. The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident and there is no further threat, DPS officials said Friday.
Images from the scene showed a large, red tractor-trailer hauling material on a flatbed in the parking lot of the building. The front end of the 18-wheeler was damaged and covered with debris from the front doors of the office. Debris was also scattered out front near a gaping hole in the entrance.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is a sprawling agency and one the largest state law enforcement operations in the country. It includes troopers who are a central part of a massive border security operation on the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the Texas Rangers, the state’s top criminal investigators. But the department also has offices across the state that issue driver’s licenses.
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