Reckless driver faces litany of charges after major U.S. 281 crashes in Marble Falls
A driver that allegedly caused multiple, major wrecks on Wednesday, Nov. 19, along U.S. 281 in Marble Falls could be facing several criminal charges for their actions.
The crashes caused extreme travel delays in Marble Falls on Wednesday afternoon, led to serious property damage, and resulted in severe injuries for the reckless motorist and a three-year-old child that was in one of the vehicles that was struck in the spree. Both the motorist and the child were airlifted from the scene to receive emergency medical treatment.
According to the Marble Falls Police Department, the driver has not yet been formally charged as of Thursday morning, as they are still in the hospital. Their identity will not be released until they are formally charged.
Pending the results of a blood test, the driver is facing charges of driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, striking fixtures on the highway, and collision involving damage to a vehicle.
A media release issued by MFPD on Thursday morning laid out the events of Wednesday afternoon.
The reckless driver at the center of Wednesday’s major accidents reportedly crashed into a 2011 Jeep SUV driven by a 19-year-old Marble Falls resident, Celeste Prado, at the intersection of Max Starcke Dam Road and U.S. 281.
The reckless driver then fled from that initial accident, heading west on Max Starcke Dam Road, and drove into a neighborhood where they struck a stop sign and a light pole along La Ventana Drive.
They then turned onto U.S. 281 from La Ventana Drive and lost control of their 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck which caused them to hit a Dodge Journey driven by 30-year-old Burnet resident Brittany Ashlock, who had her three-year-old daughter in the Dodge Journey with them.
A silver Lexus driven by 75-year-old Kerrville resident Dan Smalley then crashed into the Dodge Ram of the reckless driver.
The reckless driver then attempted to back up after the Lexus collision and also struck a 2017 Ford F-250 driven by 62-year-old Sealy resident Veronica Leenen.
U.S. 281 was shut down for about three hours following the collisions to accommodate damage control, a criminal investigation, and the landing of two different helicopters to transport the reckless driver and Ashlock’s three-year-old daughter to hospitals. During the shutdown, travel across Marble Falls was extremely hindered, leading to one-hour-plus drive times to cross town.
The three-year-old child was flown to Dell Children’s Medical Center and is reportedly in stable condition as of Thursday. The reckless driver was flown to Dell Seton Medical Center and is also reportedly in stable condition.