Drunk Driver Injures First Responders
The Bastrop Advertiser
• A suspected drunk driver hit and injured a pair of Bastrop first responders while they investigated a crash on April 1 on Texas 71. Assistant Fire Chief Eric DeArmitt sustained a “serious bodily injury which will require ongoing care,” and Police Sgt. Charles Sanford sustained a minor injury while investigating the crash at about 6 p.m. in the 600 block of West Texas 71. While DeArmitt and Sanford investigated the initial crash, another motorist, identified as 53-year-old Kenneth Crawford of Bastrop County, abruptly entered the crash scene driving a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Latitude. Crawford, driving in reverse, first hit an emergency vehicle then pulled his car forward and hit DeArmitt before traveling about 50 yards with Sanford hanging out the driver’s side window, as the officer attempted to take control of the Jeep and detain Crawford. Sanford was evaluated, treated, and released from Ascension Seton Bastrop hospital with a minor injury, while DeArmitt was released after being treated for a serious injury. Crawford has been charged with intoxication assault causing serious bodily injury of emergency service personnel and aggravated assault against a public servant, both felonies. As of April 3, he remained in the Bastrop County Jail on $200,000 bail.
The Brenham Banner-Press
•TxDOT announced it will move forward with the revised Concept B-Central Direct Connect plan for the US 290/Hwy 36 cloverleaf interchange. The decision is based on TxDOT’s technical evaluation, local stakeholders, and public input. The interchange improvement project is being developed to improve safety, reduce congestion, and improve regional mobility along the US 290 corridor. The design will provide continuous traffic flow on US 290 by maintaining two lanes in each direction and maintains access to local roads.
• A six-vehicle crash involving an 18-wheeler in Chappell Hill on April 2 sent at least one person to the hospital. Just before 5 p.m., authorities responded to the intersection of Hwy 290 and FM 1155 for a crash with entrapment. First responders found the driver of the 18-wheeler entrapped. The Brenham Fire Department helped EMS remove the driver from the 18-wheeler. DPS officials say the driver was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Houston. DPS had no information if anyone else involved in the crash was transported. Traffic was slowed for several hours, as the traffic signal at the intersection was damaged during the crash. TxDOT responded to the scene to install a temporary signal.
Burleson County Tribune
• CAP Fleet Upfitters, one of the nation’s largest upfitters of law enforcement, fire, highway safety, school districts, and first responder vehicles, is planning a relocation of its Belton and Houston facilities to the Burleson County Industrial Park in Caldwell. The 105-acre property will be the site of a 100,000 square foot assembly facility, in addition to a 24,000 square foot office building, with an estimated construction cost of over $6 million, with room for future buildings as the need arises. CAP Fleet will bring 70-plus employees in their relocation and they anticipate over 150 jobs at the Caldwell location in the next 36 months.
• Authorities in Burleson County have located a vehicle that they say may have run into a business early on April 3. The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office sent out a notice on social media that afternoon asking for help in finding a GMC truck that ran into and caused extensive property damage at a business on Highway 36 near Lyons. The vehicle was stopped early on April 4 by a Burleson County deputy. The Sheriff’s Office said information learned during the traffic stop led investigators to believe this was the vehicle that DPS Troopers were searching for. Information has been turned over to DPS for their investigation.
Giddings Times & News
• G2K Partners of Magnolia has secured an approximate one acre tract of land along Hwy 290 for the development of a new 10,000 sq ft. building proposed to house value retailer Dollar Tree, The development is slated to break ground in April. It will comprise $1.5 million in capital investment and improvements, including the purchase of the property, estimated gross retail sales of $1.5 million. Due to the project’s location along a busy intersection and adjacent to Buc-ees, TxDOT has extensive development requirements that include installing drainage, cross-cuts, and roads. The developer indicated that these requirements will lead to cost overruns that will not be compensated through the developer’s 10-year lease with the retail tenant.