Courtroom paperwork revealed the suspect of an August hit-and-run crash that killed an aged lady might have been on his cellphone as he was driving.

Weston Holtz, 18, turned himself in earlier this week and faces a cost of accident involving demise, a second-degree felony, in accordance the Travis County Jail data. Police consider Holtz hit and killed Sandra Okay. Neilsen, 70, together with his automotive within the Circle C neighborhood the morning of Aug. 17.

KXAN has reached out to Holtz’s lawyer. We are going to replace this story as soon as a response is obtained.

An arrest affidavit for Holtz mentioned a neighbor supplied officers with video footage that reveals the roadway simply earlier than the intersection of Means Lane and South Bay Lane the place the crash occurred. At 8:35 a.m. the video confirmed a black automotive with the passenger-side window down.

The affidavit mentioned, “the motive force is seen holding an object in his proper hand that seems to be a cellphone.” Police additional wrote the motive force is “trying on the object as if an individual can be a cellphone whereas driving.” The sound of the crash can then be heard over the video’s audio.

It’s unlawful to textual content and drive within the state of Texas, however cellphone legal guidelines can transcend that relying on the town. The Metropolis of Austin, for instance, has an ordinance that prohibits the usage of all digital handheld units whereas driving a car or driving a bicycle. That went into impact in 2015.

Knowledge from the Texas Division of Transportation mentioned final yr, almost one in 5 crashes on roads within the state had been attributable to distracted driving during which over 400 individuals died, and almost 3,000 had been critically harm. Distracted driving encompasses extra than simply cellphone use; it could embody consuming and consuming, placing on make-up, shaving and studying, amongst different issues.

The affidavit additionally revealed officers used cellphone location information to trace Holtz to California, the place he and his automotive had been positioned. Police additionally spoke with Holtz’s workplace, the place the supervisor mentioned Holtz texted him to say he was transferring to California, as a result of he received into a jewellery faculty.