Driver Crashes Truck Into Texas Public Safety Dept., Causing Injuries, Officials Say

Source: NY Times

Multiple people were reported injured on Friday after a person driving a semitrailer truck crashed into a Department of Public Safety office in Brenham, Texas, in what officials said may have been an intentional act. It was unclear exactly how many people were injured, and details about the injuries were unknown. The Texas Department of Public Safety said on social media that there were “reports of multiple serious injuries.”

A suspect was taken into custody, according to the Department of Public Safety, and Texas Rangers were investigating the crash. Judge Mark Keough of Montgomery County said in a social media post that the driver had been denied a commercial driver’s license on Thursday. “He returned today with intent to harm,” Judge Keough wrote. KHOU, a CBS affiliate, reported that Sheriff Otto Hanak of Washington County said that he believed the crash may have been an intentional act. Dade Phelan, the Texas House speaker, also said in a post on social media that the driver “intentionally caused injury to innocent Texans.” Mr. Phelan also said the truck was stolen.

Video and images of the scene showed the truck in a parking lot, and damage to a wall of the building with debris scattered on the ground. The Department of Public Safety provides a range of services, in addition to supervising vehicle inspection. Public safety facilities can also handle handgun licensing, some criminal processing and sex offender registration. Brenham is about 75 miles northwest of Houston.

This is a developing story.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/us/texas-truck-crash.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j00.N74l._wSl1icXPzcJ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb