One person dead in apparent road rage incident in west Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A heated argument on the road between strangers took a deadly turn Thursday morning. Now police are trying to track down the driver who was involved and left the scene.

Police say it all began with an altercation between a driver and a group of women, but it ended in a horrific crash. The mangled Acura at Westheimer and Stoney Brook is the tragic end to a chaotic morning and it's why Larry Dorsey says he no longer has a sister.

"That's my only sister, my baby sister. All I have left is my little niece," said Dorsey.

Dorsey says his sister Samantha was with her two friends in a black Acura when it crashed during what police say is a road rage incident. That crash was witnessed by two men who tried to save her life.

"As I'm watching it, as I'm crossing the street, the car is spun out of control and wrapped around a light pole. And then when it wrapped around the light pole, I ran up the scene and I saw the driver laying on the ground and I'm asking if she's OK. And as I'm asking her if she's OK, she's not responding," said Solomon Stephens.

"We rolled her over and they told us to do chest compressions and he and I were doing that until the ambulance got here," said eyewitness Mike Meeks.

Investigators believe it all started in a Walmart parking lot when people inside the two cars argued over a door ding. The Acura and a yellow sports car then drove out of the Walmart parking lot and onto Westheimer where they faced off, driving side by side for half a mile on Westheimer Road.

"The gold car cut the black vehicle off, once they cut off, lost control, struck the curb, fence, and then the light pole," said Anthony Brown with the Houston Police Department.

The two women in the front seat survived, and the yellow vehicle drove off. But Samantha died leaving behind a little girl and a devastated family.

"She's a nice little girl. She had her ways, but I loved her," said Dorsey.

The other two females in the Acura were taken to the hospital for treatment. Samantha was transported to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police are still searching for the driver of the yellow vehicle, either a Mustang or a Corvette.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, miya shay

View the original article here

TSU investigating alleged hazing incident among university band members

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As the Texas Southern University football team took the field Thursday night, something was missing -- the marching band. It was suspended and is now under investigation. The allegations against the Ocean of Soul are hazing.

Many people who attended the TSU game didn't know about the hazing allegations until it was obvious the band wasn't there. The band director, band staff and all students are being questioned, and if proven true, students could be expelled or even charged.

Halftime at BBVA Compass Stadium and the field is empty, which means the curb at the student shuttle bus stop is full. Many left early.

"There's no point of staying for 12 minutes and just sitting and looking at other people," freshman Didi Chiedu said.

For the game on September 15, the Ocean of Soul rocked. On Thursday night, their performance was canceled amidst hazing allegations.

TSU officials tell Eyewitness News they received the report Wednesday night. It involves the trumpet section and an allegation of excessive paddling. It's said to have happened September 19 off campus. There were no serious injuries but the university has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing.

According to a written statement, the university says "the band is suspended until further notice" and "TSU student affairs personnel will take appropriate action."

On Thursday night, we weren't allowed into the stadium for this story. Outside, students reacted to the allegations.

"It's not good, but it's hopefully not true," freshman Alex Coleman said.

"Usually you get this from fraternities and sororities, but from the band, which is a respectful organization at our school, it's ridiculous," Chiedu said.

This isn't the first time the band has been involved in a scandal, but it has been a long time. Twenty years ago while in Japan, students were accused of stealing thousands of dollars in electronics.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

texas southern university, local, jessica willey

View the original article here

HCSO: Man shot to death at gas station after apparent road rage incident

  Crystal KobzaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Homicide detectives have converged on a northwest Harris County gas station where a man was shot and killed this morning.

We're told that one person is confirmed dead after being shot here in this Shell gas station parking lot. This all happened after an apparent road rage incident.

This shooting happened around 7:15 this morning on FM 1960 and Perry Road. According to family members with whom we spoke, they say their relative got into a minor fender bender and pulled into this gas station parking lot. Deputies believe the now deceased man came up to the window of her Toyota Camry and started beating on it and threatening her. That's when the 23-year-old women, who was on her way to work, pulled out her gun and shot the man.

"She was on her way to work. She works at Chase Bank. This was a normal morning for her headed into work. It's unfortunate her morning did not proceed as planned," said James Dixon, family pastor.

"From the information we are getting, it appeared to be a minor accident that turned into a road rage incident, but we are trying to verify that completely," said Sgt. Felipe Rivera with the Harris Co. Sheriff's Office.

According to family members, the young women does have her concealed handgun license.

The deceased man did have another male passenger in his pickup truck. That man is being questioned by authorities.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

Clear Lake teens accused in cross burning incident

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two Clear Lake teens are accused of burning a cross in a family's front yard.

On June 14, a driver crashed through the fence at a home and left the scene without giving information. The homeowner's nephew, who attends Clear Lake High School, reportedly learned that Zachary Neal Dollar was the driver of the car. According to court documents, the homeowner called police with the information, and then Dollar and his father gave the homeowner the necessary information and paid for the fence repair.

Two weeks later, on June 28, tires were slashed and a burning cross was left in the front yard of the home where the nephew lives.

When police initially interviewed Dollar, he denied any involvement in the incident, court documents state. But shortly after, he reportedly confessed to building the cross from old fence pickets, dousing it with lighter fluid and lighting it on fire at the home. He said Nicholas Wayne Rose Soto commited the crime with him. Both teens said the other was responsible for slashing the tires.

Dollar and Rose Soto both deny that the burned cross had anything to do with race. Instead, according to court documents, they did it in order to scare the teen because they claim he attempted to blackmail Dollar, allegedly asking for money in order to keep quiet with the information about the fence crash.

Dollar and Rose Soto, both 18, are both charged with retaliation or obstruction, a felony charge.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

Sex assault incident in Montgomery Co. has community on edge

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A child molester is on the run, and a community is on alert. Deputies released a sketch of the man they're looking for in connection with an assault on a teenage girl.

Deputies say the afternoon of January 22 the man came at the girl in the backyard of her home in the High Meadow Ranch community just outside of Magnolia. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office released a sketch of the alleged armed sexual predator, who struck Sunday in the upscale golf course community.

High Meadow Ranch Golf Club manager Caysey Wade says now that word has spread the entire community is concerned.

"It did hit kind of close to home," he said. "You don't really think it is going to happen in your own neighborhood."

Authorities said the suspect had a gun when he walked up to the victim in the backyard, grabbing and struggling with the girl before sexually assaulting the victim and running away into the woods.

Wade says now parents in the area have more questions than answers as they keep their children close and keep a lookout for a suspected predator.

"There is a lot of people on high alert and there is a lot of hunters in this subdivision, so I think if you want to say they are already on standby," he said.

Authorities say the suspect is a white male, with a sunburn-looking face, blue eyes, black eyebrows, wearing black pants, black shoes, and black pullover hoodie with rain jacket material.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime. Anyone with information regarding the suspect's identity is asked to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Detective Division at 936-760-5876 or Crime Stoppers at 800-392-STOP (7867).

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, samica knight

View the original article here