A teenage driver who drove his pickup into six cyclists in Texas this year, severely injuring the group, has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.
The 16-year-old driver, who has not been publicly identified, surrendered Monday and was taken into custody by juvenile justice officials in Waller County, northwest of Houston, the local district attorney’s office said in a statement.
A group representing the injured cyclists, the Bike Law Network, said on its website that it had been “eagerly awaiting” the outcome of the investigation “for what feels like an eternity.”
“We cannot express enough admiration for the six victims Bike Law represents in this horrific crash,” the group said.
A lawyer representing the teen said in a statement that his client continues to pray for the cyclists’ quick recovery.
The lawyer, Richard DeToto, declined further comment, citing juvenile confidentiality laws.
The crash occurred Sept. 25 on a four-lane road in Waller, according to a detailed account of the incident from the Bike Law Network.
The cyclists — who were training for an Ironman competition — suffered spinal, brain and cervical injuries, as well as broken collarbones, hands and wrists, when the driver hit them with a Ford F-250, the group said.
All six cyclists were hospitalized, including two who were transported by Life Flight.
A witness told the network’s lawyers that the teen “assaulted” another group of cyclists just before the crash when he “coal-rolled” them, blanketing the area in diesel smoke, the group said.
The network said Monday that the injured cyclists face a “long road of physical recovery ahead.”
“Our clients have shown us nothing short of remarkable patience and courage over the last month and a half,” the group said.