Man Indicted for Evading Arrest and Crashing Into Bridge Support Beam

SAN ANGELO, TX— The man who crashed into the bridge support beam by McDonald's on Southwest Boulevard has been indicted.

Arturo Aguilera, 21, was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for running from law enforcement and crashing into a concrete support beam.

According to court documents, on Sept. 26, 2024, at 1:45 p.m., a state trooper was conducting traffic enforcement on the Houston Harte Expressway. The trooper observed a vehicle that was displaying expired registration that was traveling in the westbound lane.

The trooper then attempted to stop the vehicle, which began to slow down before accelerating at a high rate of speed. The suspect's vehicle exited Houston Harte onto Southwest Boulevard and used the designated turnaround lane. While evading the trooper in the turnaround lane, the suspect left the roadway and struck one of the bridge’s concrete support beams.

The driver, identified as Aguilera, exited the vehicle and was taken into custody after surrendering. A warrant check of Aguilera revealed that he had outstanding felony warrants for failure to register as a sex offender and online solicitation of a minor. Aguilera was then taken to Shannon Medical Center for treatment on his neck.

Aguilera was read his Miranda Rights and voluntarily answered questions. He allegedly admitted that he ran because he knew he had warrants and claimed that he had smoked marijuana just before the short chase. After he was treated at Shannon, he was transported to the Tom Green County Jail.

Aguilera was booked into the Tom Green County Detention Center on Sept. 26, 2024, and has remained an inmate since. He is next due in court on Jan. 21, 2025.