Last weekend Joseph Thomas drove off the road and crashed through the bedroom wall of a unit in the Willshire West Apartments off of Airport Blvd. Sleeping in that bedroom was a 17 month old child and his parents. The impact of the collision threw the two adults several feet and left the infant stuck under the truck. Thankfully the infant was saved by the mattress he was sleeping in. Thomas was arrested for Austin DWI and taken to the hospital because of his injuries, and then later "unarrested." Austin Police Department (APD) Spokesperson Scott Perry said "We have in our policy certain situations where officers are given the discretion with supervisor approval, to unarrest somebody. In the cases of misdemeanor crimes, which are while still important crimes still, are less severe than felony crimes."
The family that was nearly killed and whose apartment was destroyed by the accident are furious that the APD has asked them to be patient because it could one or two months before a warrant is actually issued for Thomas' arrest. According to myfoxaustin.com Thomas called their reporters and admitted to drinking that night, that he knew what he did was wrong, and that he doesn't remember the crash. Police expect to charge Thomas with a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge.
