Driver purposely crashes truck into office; 1 dead, 13 injured
BRENHAM, Texas — A Texas semitrailer driver rammed a stolen 18-wheeler into a public safety building where his renewal for a commercial driver’s license had been rejected, killing one person and injuring 13 others, authorities said Friday.
The driver — identified as Clenard Parker, 42 — was pulled out of the truck by authorities after smashing into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in the rural town of Brenham, outside of Houston, Sgt. Justin Ruiz said.
Authorities say Parker was taken into custody but did not say which charges he would face.
Of those injured, six were taken to hospitals but have since been released. Eight were treated on the scene. No DPS staff suffered serious injuries.
Texas DPS officials said in a social media post on X that the crash happened at the agency’s office 75 miles west of Houston and requested people avoid the area to clear the way for responding medical personnel.
The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident and there is no further threat, DPS officials said Friday.
Images from the scene showed a large, red tractor-trailer hauling material on a flatbed in the parking lot of the building. The front end of the 18-wheeler was damaged and covered with debris from the front doors of the office. Debris was also scattered near a gaping hole in the entrance.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is a sprawling agency and one of the largest state law enforcement operations in the country. It includes troopers who are a central part of a massive border security operation on the U.s.-mexico border as well as the Texas Rangers, the state’s top criminal investigators. But the department also has offices across the state that issue driver’s licenses.