Teen Driver Charged with Murder of Houston Pastor: Trenton Bevel has been charged with felony murder for the death of a 75-year-old Houston pastor and mother of a Houston Police Department sergeant.
The 18-year-old teenager was driving a stolen vehicle at a red light around 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 7 on Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Van Fleet Street when he struck Gloria Collins. Collins died at the scene, roughly 2 miles from her MacGregor Park-area home.
Houston Chronicle reported the police were chasing the teenager and had lost sight of him moments before the collision occurred. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner who identified Collins as the mother of an HPD sergeant said the fatal wreck was not related to the prior pursuit or HPD chase policies.
According to a family member, Collins was a faith leader with the Church of the Living God. Speaking to KHOU, Jerry Burley, who had known her for 30 years and was her pastor for 15, years said “She had so much talent it was unreal. Anything she set her mind to do. She did it.”
Bevel hit Collins with a Dodge Charger reported stolen earlier that week. He is reportedly hospitalized in critical condition. Two other innocent people who sustained injuries following the crash were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Bevel however has been charged with felony murder – a charge that applies when a death occurs during the commission of another felony. A judge has set a $500,000 bond for him.