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The Rice Thresher
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by BRIAN STOLER THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF Police are still looking for the driver of the truck that hit two vans carrying members of Rice's forensics team on Interstate 45 last month. The Harris County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant April 7 for the arrest of the driver, 43-year-old Martin Dean Runnells of Katy, but he was not yet in police custody as of Wednesday afternoon. Traffic Division Lt. John Denholm said Runnells knows the police are looking for him. "His parole officer said he was going to surrender, but he didn't," Denholm said. Runnells has previously served time in prison, Denholm said. Runnells faces charges of criminally negligent homicide in the March 13 crash that killed Baker College freshman Daniel Henning and injured other members of the George R. Brown Forensics Society. A conviction for negligent homicide, a state felony, carries a sentence of 180 days to two years of confinement in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Denholm said Runnells will not face additional charges for evading the police. The truck was traveling no less than 79 mph when it hit the first van, according to the investigation by the sheriff's traffic division. The speed limit at the site of the crash, which occurred in a construction zone, was 55 mph. Denholm said a vehicle's speed before hitting another vehicle is an important part of determining whether charges will be filed. "When you're driving too fast in a construction zone, that's construed as negligence quite often," Denholm said. Denholm said the police took over three weeks to file charges against Runnells because investigations like this often take a long time to complete. "We try to get it done right the first time, and sometimes that takes two or three weeks," Denholm said. - back - |
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