Deputies Hurt, Prisoner Killed In Head-On Crash With Drunk Driver

HOUSTON, TX — Two Harris County Sheriff’s deputies were injured and the man they were taking to jail was killed when their patrol car was hit head-on by a drunk driver Sunday night. The crash happened at about 11:30 p.m. on the Eldridge Parkway entrance ramp on the Westpark Tollway, police said.

Investigators said the deputies were taking a man to jail who’d been arrested for driving while intoxicated, and were hit head-on by a drunk driver as the entered the tollway.

The prisoner, who was not identified, died on the way to the hospital. One of the deputies suffered a concussion, while the other suffered broken bones.

The wrong-way driver, identified as as 39-year-old Patrick Mukuria Njogu, suffered a broken leg in the crash, Capt. Quincy Whitaker with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.

"This is another unfortunate incident in Harris County that we are trying to get a hold of," Whitaker said. "The sheriff takes these kinds of incidents very seriously, and he is increasing the number of DWI deputies to combat this problem in this county."

Overnight 2 @HCSOTexas Deputies were injured and a prisoner they were transporting to jail for DWI was killed when the patrol vehicle was hit head on by another drunk driver. The suspect has 3 prior DWI convictions and has been charged with murder. #DontDrinkAndDrive #DWI pic.twitter.com/RHen0s7W1h
— Major Mike Lee (@HCSOPatrol) July 22, 2019

Sean Teare, chief of the Vehicular Crimes Division for the Harris County DA’s Office, said Njogu has a record of drunk driving convictions and will be charged with felony murder, as well as two counts of intoxication assault of a peace officer.

"This is more than his third DWI conviction. He has convictions from numerous states," Teare said.

The felony murder charge for Njogu is a first-degree offense in Texas that carries a term of five to 99 years in prison if he is convicted.

"We are out here so many nights dealing with things like this," Teare said. "This is not OK."

Officials said witnesses reported seeing the wrong way driver on the Westpark Tollway several minutes before the fatal crash.

Teare, who called these types of crashes in Houston “epidemic” said the DA’s office will be working to determine where Njogu had been drinking before he got behind the wheel, and may pursue charges against the establishment.

"We are going to utilize every tool we have to discover where he became intoxicated, because the information we have right now is that he was highly intoxicated," Teare said. "If there is anyone else we can old accountable for allowing this person to get that intoxicated and get our roadways, we’re going to put them in jail as well."

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