DEER PARK, Texas — The driver charged in a crash that left a Deer Park student fighting for her life has three prior driving under the influence charges, according to court records.
Leland Benfrank Smith, 55, was arrested after he lost control of his pickup, veered onto the sidewalk and crashed into a light pole, then hit the victim who was walking on the sidewalk, Deer Park police said.
The 17-year-old student was walking home from school with her sister when she was critically hurt on Georgia Avenue near Wildwood Drive. We are not releasing her name yet at the family's request.
Deer Park police said Smith failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for intoxication assault. They said additional charges could be filed.
Smith has a long rap sheet dating back to 1987.
- Records show that he was arrested on his second DUI charge in 2008 and sentenced to 30 days.
- In 2009, Smith was charged with his third DUI offense, along with a charge of injury to an elderly person. He received a two-year sentence.
- His most recent arrest was in 2017 on an assault charge and received another 30-day sentence.
- Other charges included burglary, theft and resisting arrest.
Smith had a post on his LinkedIn profile, saying that he founded a Christian recovery ministry. The post said he overcame drug and alcohol issues and wanted to help others do the same.
"I have overcome my own issues with drug addiction and alcoholism, and I enjoy using my experience to help others do the same. I have worked and served in the nonprofit sector since 2002," Smith's profile says. "I love helping individuals and organizations achieve their missional goals. My prayer is that in some small way, I may be of help to you too."
'Tragic from every perspective'
The victim's family and the Deer Park community are praying for a miracle.
“It’s tragic from every perspective, right? The victim and the guy that’s involved in the accident," neighbor Mark Elliott said. "Jesus is the great healer. Hopefully, it’s his will that she comes through."
The girl is a 10th grader at Deer Park High School South Campus, less than a mile from where the accident happened.
People who know her and complete strangers left flowers and other items at the accident scene on Wednesday.
“I’m a school bus driver and it’s, like, breaking all of our hearts, where we work at right now," Elizabeth told us. "Praying for the family."
RELATED: Deer Park community praying for miracle for student hit by truck while walking home from school
In an email to parents Tuesday night, the South Campus principal initially reported that the girl died at the hospital, citing emergency officials at the scene. They later learned that the information was wrong and sent a second email to parents.
"In sensitive situations like this one, we depend on information from emergency officials. After we received news about the accident, we shared the details that were available at the time," Principal Kirk Taylor said. "Our intent was to offer support to families in the best way possible."
Taylor apologized for the confusion.
Counselors spoke on Wednesday to South Campus students who had classes with the victim, the district said.
Accidents involving pedestrians at five-year high
We dug into the number of wrecks involving vehicles and pedestrians. We found that in 2023, Harris County is at a five-year high for the months January through October.
So far, in 2023, there have been 1,560 wrecks involving vehicles and pedestrians in Harris County, according to TxDOT Crash Records Information System. The next closest in that time over the last five years is last year at 1,536. There were, however, more fatalities last year. In 2022, there were 152 fatalities compared to 2023, when there were 146. The year with the lowest number of wrecks involving vehicles and pedestrians was in 2020 when the pandemic kept people off the roads for a period of time. That year, there were 1,274 wrecks involving pedestrians and 121 fatalities.