Inset: Tionne Spears (Bexar County Jail). Background: The State Highway 211 near Lambada Drive in San Antonio, Texas, where Spears allegedly ran over a man's body (Google Maps).
Texas authorities investigating a fatal collision had to jump out of the way of an allegedly intoxicated driver who ran over the body of a man who was killed when he was struck by two other vehicles.
Tionne Spears, 26, stands accused of driving while intoxicated, abuse of a corpse and possession of a controlled substance.
The incident occurred Friday night on State Highway 211 near Lambada Drive in San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters. A 61-year-old man was walking across the street when he was clipped by a side mirror, knocking him to the ground. Another driver did not have enough time to react and ran the man over, killing him. Deputies do not believe there was any wrongdoing on the part of those two drivers.
Cops cordoned off the area, covered the body and began investigating the crash when a third driver, later identified as Spears, came barreling into the crime scene, running over the man's body and narrowly avoiding deputies, according to Salazar.
Spears was taken into custody. Deputies believe Spears was under the influence of khat, a plant native to Africa known to give users "a sense of bravado" and increase their pain tolerance, Salazar said. The sheriff noted it gained notoriety after the movie "Black Hawk Down" depicted its use by men attacking U.S. troops.
"Thankfully our investigators were not hurt," Salazar said. "But again it's unfortunate that this poor victim, who'd already been through a lot obviously, had his body run over as a result of this lady's level of intoxication and her unawareness of where she was."
Spears was taken to the Bexar County Jail and has since posted a $14,100 bond. She has a court date set for March 30.