Texas

At least 1 dead, 13 injured after driver crashes stolen 18-wheeler into Texas DPS office

Houston Public Media News 88.7 | By Adam Zuvanich

Published April 12, 2024 at 4:23 PM CDT

The scene of a truck crash in front of a brick building. Police cars surround the building. — Emergency personnel work at the scene after an 18-wheeler crashed into the Texas Department of Public Safety Office in Brenham, Texas, Friday, April 12, 2024. A suspect is in custody in connection to a commercial vehicle crash at the Texas Department of Public Safety office in the rural town west of Houston. Texas DPS officials say one death and multiple injuries were reported in the crash.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said one person died and there were “multiple serious injuries” Friday after a man drove a stolen 18-wheeler into its office in Brenham, which is about 75 miles northwest of Houston.

Clenard Parker, a 42-year-old resident of nearby Chappell Hill, was arrested at the scene, according to DPS Sgt. Justin Ruiz, who said Parker had visited the DPS office the day before and was denied a commercial driver’s license. Local law enforcement was pursuing Parker at the time of the crash, Ruiz said.

“We will prosecute this person to the full extent of the law,” Texas Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who represents the Brenham area, said during an afternoon news conference. “This will not be tolerated, not in my hometown, and not in our home state.”

Including the person who died, a total of 14 people were injured in the crash, according to DPS, with three of them being flown to hospitals in the region. Three others were taken to hospitals with less significant injuries, and eight people were treated at the scene.

Kolkhorst wrote earlier Friday in a post on X that no DPS staffers were seriously injured.

DPS can confirm that 14 people were injured in today’s tragic incident at the Brenham DPS Office.

One is now deceased, two have serious injuries, three were taken to a hospital & released, and eight were treated at the scene.

The Texas Rangers are leading this investigation. https://t.co/fd4UkpOdia
— TxDPS - Southeast Texas Region (@TxDPSSoutheast) April 12, 2024

“Our hearts go out to the injured and their families, and we pray especially for those in critical condition,” Rohnnie Shaw, executive director of the Texas State Troopers Association, wrote in a Facebook post by the organization.

After Parker was arrested, the DPS office for the Southeast Texas region wrote in a post on X that there was “no further threat to the community.”

“This is a sad day for DPS and for all the people involved, all the customers we had in our building today,” Ruiz said.