A teenager was killed in a crash involving a suspected intoxicated driver. The passenger, identified as Jarmelo Vertudez, was pronounced dead hours later at a downtown Houston hospital.
According to Houston Stringer, Griffin Trebec was driving a blue 2022 Lincoln Aviator eastbound in the outside lane of Tuckerton Road with five passengers, ages 16 to 18, inside the vehicle. A witness told investigators the Lincoln was traveling at a high rate of speed shortly before the crash. Traveling eastbound in the inside lane was a blue 2011 Honda Accord carrying a driver and two 16-year-old passengers.
As the Lincoln closed in from behind, the Honda changed lanes, and the Lincoln's front left corner struck the Honda's rear right side, the outlet reports. The impact sent the Honda spinning counterclockwise off the roadway and into a tree. The Lincoln also rotated counterclockwise before rolling numerous times, ejecting Vertudez from the vehicle during the rollover.
Teen Rushed to Downtown Hospital, Pronounced Dead Before Dawn
Vertudez was transported to Memorial Hermann Downtown, where he was pronounced deceased at 4:41 a.m., per the same report from Houston Stringer. Four other occupants of the Lincoln were taken to Memorial Hermann Cypress and Memorial Hermann Katy with non-life-threatening injuries. The Honda driver and the two teen passengers inside that vehicle have not had their conditions disclosed in reporting on the crash.
The driver was suspected of intoxication. By contrast, the Honda's driver remained at the scene, cooperated with investigators and did not display signs of intoxication, the outlet notes.
Vehicular Crimes Division Still Investigating
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Harris County Vehicular Crimes Division, the dossier's reporting confirms. No charges, citations or arrest details tied to Trebec have been disclosed, and no blood-alcohol or toxicology results have been made public at this stage of the investigation.
The Tuckerton Road corridor has seen deadly crashes before. A rollover crash at the nearby Greenhouse and Tuckerton roads intersection left one person dead and a teen critically injured, according to FOX 26 Houston.
Impaired driving remains a persistent concern across the Houston region. State transportation officials have noted that alcohol-related crashes across the six-county Houston area resulted in hundreds of fatalities and serious injuries in recent years, according to TxDOT. As the investigation into the Tuckerton Road crash continues, the circumstances that led the Lincoln to strike the Honda remain under review by Harris County investigators.
