Police: Driver going nearly 100 mph charged with manslaughter in Georgetown death
A driver traveling at more than 90 mph on an Interstate 35 frontage road in Georgetown late last year had illegal levels of tint on his truck's windows when he struck and killed a pedestrian, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.
Kevonte Lamont McConnell Hawkins, 31, of San Antonio was arrested and charged with manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Colter Davis-Nelson, according to the affidavit. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The incident happened along a frontage road in the 200 block of Interstate 35, just south of Williams Drive, on Dec. 1, the affidavit said. Georgetown police were notified at 5 a.m. Dec. 1 that Davis-Nelson was dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Davis-Nelson, who was raised in Beaumont, lived in Georgetown at the time of his death, according to an online obituary.
Hawkins told officers who arrived at the scene that he was driving a 2016 Chevrolet 1500 going about 60 to 65 mph when he saw Davis-Nelson "at the last minute" running across the road, according to the affidavit. It said Hawkins told police he was "unable to see him due to Colter (Davis-Nelson) wearing dark colored clothing with no reflective material."
The incident happened in a construction zone with clearly marked warning signs and "clearly marked speed limit signs of 45 mph approximately .24 miles south of the location of the collision," the affidavit said.
Hawkins said he pulled over after striking the pedestrian, checked on him and called 911, according to the affidavit. It said police surveyed the scene and were able to determine that Davis-Nelson had almost made it across the road before the collision.
Police also found that Hawkins' windshield was entirely covered with tinted film and only allowing 10% of the light to enter. Texas law requires tinting on a windshield and the two front side windows of a vehicle to allow at least 25% of the light to enter, and it also prohibits applying tint to the entire windshield, the affidavit said. Hawkins' front windows would not allow any light in because of the tinting, according to the affidavit.
Police said that investigators determined the damage on Hawkins' truck was not "consistent" with a person driving between 60 to 65 mph. Information on the truck's event data recorder showed that five seconds before the crash, the vehicle was traveling at an average speed of 95 mph before its air bag went off, the affidavit said.
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Security video obtained from a Comfort Suites Hotel showed Hawkins was driving northbound on the frontage road just before the collision, the affidavit said. An investigator using a time and distance formula was able to determine that Hawkins was traveling at 94 mph in the video, it said.
Officers told Hawkins that his truck's event data recorder showed he was traveling 99 mph "at the time of the collision," to which he replied that he didn't realize he was traveling that fast because his music was turned up, according to the affidavit. Hawkins also said he knew there was construction going on in the area and thought the speed limit was 60 mph, police said.
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Hawkins told police his truck's windows were tinted when he bought it and he added an extra layer of tint "due to an eye condition he has," the affidavit said.
Investigators also learned that Hawkins had received a citation from the Texas Department of Public Safety in July for speeding 75 mph in the same construction zone where he later hit Davis-Nelson, the affidavit said.
Hawkins has previously been arrested and charged for reckless driving, deadly conduct and organized criminal activity involving street takeovers that happened in Austin, according to the affidavit.
In watching videos of some of the street takeovers, investigators could see Hawkins in his truck "hitting and pushing another vehicle out of the intersection then doing a burnout (Donuts) and he circles a ring of fire," the affidavit said. "While doing the donuts he collides with a gas container that catches fire. The gas is then thrown onto pedestrians standing nearby watching."
Hawkins was booked into the Williamson County Jail on Wednesday. He remained in custody Thursday with bail set at $100,000.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Driver faces manslaughter charge in Georgetown pedestrian death
