Man ‘Intentionally’ Crashes 18-Wheeler Into Texas Public Safety Office, Authorities Say
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One person was killed and 13 others injured Friday when a stolen big rig smashed through the front of the Department of Public Safety office building in Brenham, Texas.
The DPS for the Southeastern Region of Texas posted an update about the incident on X, saying that one person had died, and two suffered serious injuries.
DPS can confirm that 14 people were injured in today’s tragic incident at the Brenham DPS Office.
One is now deceased, two have serious injuries, three were taken to a hospital & released, and eight were treated at the scene.
The Texas Rangers are leading this investigation. https://t.co/fd4UkpOdia— TxDPS - Southeast Texas Region (@TxDPSSoutheast) April 12, 2024
The driver of the stolen big rig has been identified as 42-year-old Clenard Parker, who has been taken into custody. DPS said Parker had been denied the renewal of his commercial driver’s license on Thursday.
Police released a mugshot of Parker, whose charges were not disclosed.
NEW: Mugshot just posted for Clenard Parker, the man DPS says drove a stolen 18-wheeler into a DPS office this morning in Brenham. @NBCDFW https://t.co/5sR2GcCtk6 pic.twitter.com/9xgUJ3s4bv
— Meredith Yeomans (@YeomansNBC5) April 12, 2024
During a press conference Friday, Brenham Mayor Atwood Kenjura said the crash had been deliberate, and that Parker had backed up the truck with the intention of ramming it into the building a second time before he was detained, according to the Associated Press.
No DPS staff members were seriously injured, according to a statement from Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst. One staff member was briefly trapped in the building.
“This shameful and murderous act will not be tolerated in my hometown or our state,” state Sen. Kolkhorst wrote in a post on X.
News footage from ABC7 Chicago, showed a large red semi-truck with a flatbed, covered in debris in front of a large hole in the crumbling facade of the building.
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