A teenage male in Austin was arrested on Friday for running over a man in an electric-powered wheelchair. Austin Police apprehended 17-year-old Pablo Antonio Avila-Banagas and booked him on several charges including failure to stop and render aid, injury to a disabled person, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
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According to CBS News, Austin cops responded to a call on Sept. 3 around 10 a.m., about a pedestrian that was struck by a vehicle in a parking lot at the 9200 block of North Lamar Boulevard by the intersection of Runderberg Lane. Surveillance video obtained and released by the Austin Police Department showed the male pedestrian was crossing the parking lot in his electric wheelchair when he noticed an oncoming pick-up truck driving in a rather reckless manner. The man signaled the driver of the truck to slow down but the driver continued to head in the man’s direction and ran him over, dragging the disabled victim down the main road.
A passing Austin Fire Department truck witnessed the accident and immediately stopped to assist and render aid to the victim. EMS medics transported the victim to a local hospital where he is being treated for severe, life-threatening injuries.
Investigators were able to identify the hit-and-run perpetrator who was booked into the Travis County Jail on Sept. 9. Avila-Banagas now faces second and third-degree felony charges along with both Class A and Class B misdemeanors. The investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, a woman in Texas who was accused of killing a pregnant mom-to-be in an attempt to steal her unborn baby in October 2020, went on trial on Monday over charges of capital murder. Taylor Rene Parker pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and capital murder in the death of 21-year-old Regan Michelle Simmons-Hancock and her unborn child. The mother and daughter died in their home after Parker stabbed Hancock more than 100 times, crushed her skull with a hammer and cut open her womb with a scalpel to get the child. Hancock was also charged with non-capital murder for the death of the baby.
Court documents stated Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp addressed the jury citing how 29-year-old Parker wanted to keep the baby from losing her boyfriend. She had disguised herself as pregnant for 10 months and went through the trouble of faking ultrasounds and holding a gender-reveal party she had even posted on social media while scouting for her victim.
