Hit-and-run suspect back in jail
Teen accused of violating bond conditions
A local woman who caused a man to lose a leg in a hit-andrun at his mailbox is back in jail for violating the conditions of her bond a second time.
Angela Dawn Cox, 18, of Texarkana, pleaded guilty Monday to failure to stop and render aid at a hearing before 5th District Judge Bill Miller. Miller ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled Cox to appear for formal sentencing in late August.
Cox was taken back into custody Friday, just four days after her most recent release, for unspecified violations of her bond conditions. Cox was first arrested June 13 and released that day on a $15,000 bond. Her bond was revoked July 27 for violations, and Cox remained behind bars until her hearing on Monday.
Miller set a $30,000 personal recognizance bond for Cox on Monday. On Friday, the judge inked his signature on a warrant for Cox, which cites violations of her bond conditions. Cox is expected to remain in jail until she appears for sentencing Aug. 21. Offenders who are free on bond are typically ordered to abstain from the use of alcohol and drugs and to refrain from criminal conduct. Cox is facing two to 10 years in prison at sentencing, though she is eligible to receive probation.
But Cox’s legal trouble doesn’t
end there. Michael Gentry filed suit in Bowie County district court last month, seeking to recover damages in connection with the May 9 hit-and-run. Gentry’s suit, filed by Longview, Texas, lawyer Carson Runge, names Cox and her mother as defendants. Cox’s mother is the registered owner of the 2015 Ford pickup Cox was driving when she hit Gentry shortly before noon on Farm to Market Road 559.
Gentry was standing at his mailbox, approximately 4 feet from the roadway fog line, when Cox veered out of her lane and struck him, according to a Texas Department of Transportation report. Evidence found at the scene led investigators to believe Gentry was hit by a Ford, and the truck was found in a local body shop the following day.
Gentry’s lawsuit, pending before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell, accuses Cox of being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the collision. It also accuses Cox’s mother of knowing of her daughter’s alleged substance abuse problem and allowing her to drive her truck anyway.
The civil complaint seeks more than $1 million to compensate Gentry for his lost leg, past and future medical expenses, past and future mental anguish and past and future pain and suffering.