2 men charged in fatal street race

Woman, 66, was killed when her car was hit at high speed

TEXARKANA, Texas — Two men accused of causing a fatal vehicle accident on North State Line Avenue in December have been indicted on felony charges of negligent homicide, manslaughter and racing on the highway causing death.

Robert Gene Culpepper, 23, of Lockesburg and Christopher Daniel, 25, of Texarkana, Texas, were indicted by a Bowie County grand jury on March 7, according to court documents.

Both men were originally arrested on the charge of racing on the highway causing death. Warrants on the negligent homicide and manslaughter charges were issued after the grand jury met, according to court documents.

Culpepper is represented by attorney Justin Weiner, according to court records. Daniel is represented by attorney John Delk.

Bail for both men has been set at $1 million. The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell, according to court records. Both men have their next court date on Monday.

Linda Reed, 66, died when her car was struck as she attempted to cross North State Line Avenue from East 9th Street to Hazel Street about 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 18.

Evidence showed that both Culpepper and Daniel were driving south on State Line Avenue at an extremely high rate of speed, according to Texarkana, Texas, Police.

Reed’s car was struck by vehicles that were southbound on State Line and became involved in the accident.

The southbound vehicles were a 2005 Chevrolet pickup driven by Culpepper and a 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan driven by Daniel.

Witness accounts and data from the pickup indicated the truck and the Tiguan were racing, according to an arrest affidavit. Witnesses behind the vehicles reported they heard the Tiguan revving its engine. One witness told police that when the light at East 12th and North State Line turned green, both vehicles accelerated rapidly.

Daniel told police his engine revved because it is a sports car but that his car was not in “sport” mode, according to the affidavit. Daniel also told police he was unsure how fast he was going because he was trying to “catch up.” When the officer asked him what he was trying to “catch up” to, Daniel stated that it was the speed limit.

On Dec. 20, officers obtained search warrants to obtain data from the vehicles.

Data obtained from Culpepper’s truck indicated he accelerated to 74 mph before the accident, according to the affidavit. The speed limit on State Line Avenue is 40 mph.

Culpepper was also arrested on a charge of failure to maintain financial responsibility. Bail on that charge was set at $320, according to jail records.