Man charged after driving 100 mph in East Austin, crashing into bus station: affidavit

AUSTIN, Texas – A man was charged with intoxication manslaughter after a crash in East Austin.

The backstory:

According to an arrest affidavit, on April 17, around 1:31 a.m., officers responded to a crash in the 2800 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

An investigation revealed the driver, Jalen Carter, 32, was driving a 2026 white Nissan at an estimated speed of 100 mph in a 45 mph zone. The car “bottomed out” at a train crossing and lost control. The car then hit a utility pole, hit a bus station, and five parked cars before finally coming to a stop. 

A passenger in the car, Carter’s mother, suffered a serious hand injury. 

One witness told an officer that Carter had been smoking marijuana about 30 minutes before driving and was acting “abnormal and paranoid.” An officer described Carter’s eyes as bloodshot and glassy. 

An officer said he also “exhibited cyclic behavior” and was alternating between grabbing his mother and falling unconscious.

When officers tried talking to Carter, they said he was uncooperative and combative. They also said he ignored verbal commands and had to be removed from his mother. 

Carter and his mother were taken to a local hospital. His mother lost her thumb and required emergency surgery. 

At the hospital, Cater was so aggressive that it took about 10 people, including four security guards, to hold him down. He was eventually sedated and intubated. 

Carter was later charged with intoxication assault.