SAN ANGELO, Texas — A former Angelo State University baseball player was sentenced to 10 years probation after he pleaded guilty to three charges of accident involving death related to a March 2021 hit-and-run crash at the intersection of South Bryant Boulevard and West Avenue N.
Benjamin Elder was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury on the second-degree felony charges in July 2021. In addition to the probation, Elder will pay a $1,000 fine.
According to a 2021 San Angelo Police Department press release, a traffic officer conducting traffic enforcement near the 1300 block of South Bryant Boulevard, saw a gray SUV traveling southbound exceeding speeds of 10 miles per hour above the posted speed.
The officer tried to catch up to the SUV to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver accelerated, ran a red light at the intersection and crashed into another vehicle.
The second vehicle, which Elder was driving, left the scene.
Three teenagers in the SUV were killed in the crash. Two teens were treated for incapacitating injuries.
Preliminary evidence at recovered at the crash scene showed the hit-and-run vehicle was a light-colored 2001-2005 Ford Escape Sport or Sport Trac. At that time, the SAPD issued a citywide Nixle Alert asking for the public to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
A citizen who received the alert saw a damaged tan-colored Explorer Trac unoccupied and abandoned on the West Loop 306 Frontage Road near Knickerbocker Road.
Officers went to the vehicle's location and noticed it had damage consistent with the crash. The vehicle was seized for processing. In a follow-up investigation, the department's Traffic Unit and Criminal Investigations found information about the suspect's identity and possible location.
The driver was later identified as Elder. He was found at a home in the 2500 block of South A&M Avenue and arrested.
The driver of the SUV, Antonio Gonzales, pleaded not guilty to three counts of evading arrest detention causing death and three counts of manslaughter. Gonzales was convicted by a Tom Green County jury on all six counts in October 2022 and sentenced 20 years in prison.