Police: Drunk driver hits school bus in Edcouch
EDCOUCH — An Edcouch man slammed into a school bus early Friday morning and was arrested on a charge of third-degree felony driving while intoxicated after trying to flee the scene, according to authorities.
Julian Walle, 34, was driving erratically and crashed into the front left side of a school bus at the intersection of Mile 17 Road North and Farm-to-Market Road 1015, said Trooper Johnny Hernandez, a local spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Walle crashed his black Cadillac Escalade into the bus at 7:12 a.m. and then tried to flee the scene, Hernandez said. Troopers searched for him and found him in a nearby field soon after.
“He was highly intoxicated,” Hernandez said.
A 12-year-old girl aboard the bus was taken to Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco for observation but was not seriously injured.
Walle was taken to the Hidalgo County Jail and was expected to go before a judge later Friday.
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Nick Pipitone covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.
