Traffic citation but no criminal charges after fatal Texas crash

The driver who collided with a van in an accident that claimed the life of an 11-year-old Dike boy on Interstate 35 in north central Texas on December 29 will be issued a traffic citation but has not been criminally charged at the present time. 
           
Hudson Hayes, a sixth grader at Dike-New Hartford Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene at around 6:30 a.m. His father Dustin suffered a concussion, and his sister suffered a leg injury that resulted in Compartment Syndrome.
 
The driver of the van, 20-year-old Spencer Gull of Guttenberg, was transported along with the elder Hayes to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and Emma Hayes was taken to Children’s Hospital in Dallas. All four were headed to Laredo to perform Christian mission work with the Seed Sowers, a group that distributes free Bibles.
           
According to a press release issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver of the vehicle that struck Hayes was 33-year-old Emmanuel Compos-Carrera of Dallas, and the white Chrysler passenger van that Gull was driving had been disabled due to a previous accident in which he rear-ended another vehicle. The road was blocked off for around three hours following the crash.
 
Dustin Hayes told The Grundy Register that distracted driving likely caused the fatal collision, as Compos-Carrera was reaching for a water bottle when it occurred. As of Tuesday morning, he had received word from Texas officials that Compos-Carrera would receive a traffic citation but that criminal charges were unlikely.
 
UPDATE: On Tuesday evening after this issue of The Grundy Register went to press, a message was received from the Texas Department of Public Safety. A spokesperson indicated that due to the nature of fatal investigations, they take a while, and at this time, no criminal charges have been filed. The investigation, however, has not yet been completed. We will provide updates as they become available. 
 
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