Houston Man Indicted In Fatal Crash Surrenders To Police

HOUSTON — A man who was indicted by a Harris County grand jury on Monday, turned himself into police hours later.

Christopher Lopez, 48, was indicted on 3 felony counts of manslaughter, failure to stop and render aid, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the New Year’s Day crash the claimed the life of 45-year-old Silvia Zavala.

According to investigators, a 14-year-old boy took his father’s SUV without permission and was riding with a group of his friends and began throwing eggs at cars.

Prosecutors said after the boys threw eggs at Lopez's car, he began chasing the boys and at times reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Officials said Lopez allegedly chased the boys, running several reed lights, eventually through the intersection at Aldine Westfield and Aldine Mail Route against another red light.

READ ALSO: Driver, 14, Charged With Murder In Crash That Killed Woman

The boys, who claimed Lopez was brandishing a gun and fired several shots at their vehicle during the chase, plowed into the side of Zavala’s Ford F-150 pickup.

Meanwhile, Lopez fled the area at a high rate of speed and never stopped to check on the victims, officials said.

Zavala was killed in the crash and the 14-year-old driver was charged with murder, and is being held in the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center.

Lopez is in the Harris County Jail with his bond set at $60,000.

Lopez faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of any of the charges. He is being prosecuted by the Vehicular Crimes Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Image: Shutterstock

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com