William Crum Indicted
by
John Burns
Published: March 16th, 2016
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This just in from John B., MO’s Texas legal scholar, regarding the viral video starring Mr. Crum I referred to in a column last October:
Dear John:
I did research related to William “Bill” Sam Crum, the Texas driver who intentionally crashed into a motorcyclist last October causing serious injuries to the rider and his passenger.
A Hood County grand jury indicted Mr. Crum on two aggravated assault counts, which carry a range of punishment from two to 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. Mr. Crum may be eligible for community supervision (probation).
Apparently, Mr. Crum has been unable to post bail and has been in the Hood County Jail since his arrest on October 20, 2015. His bail is set at $150,000, and normally a defendant can get a bond for 10% of that sum. Since Mr. Crum remains in jail we can assume he has no friends or family members willing to come up with $15,000 to get him out of jail, which generally means he’s not a great guy. As such, it appears Crum will remain in jail until the cases against him are resolved through a plea agreement, dismissal (unlikely), or trial. Motorcyclists can find comfort in knowing Mr. Crum has been in jail nearly six (6) months awaiting trial. Of course, he will get credit for time served, perhaps even 3-1 credit depending on Hood County policy. (Note: In Texas, we always find money to build more prisons, so overcrowding is not a problem here.)
I do not know whether Mr. Crum had auto insurance, and I cannot find any record to indicate the victims filed a civil suit against Crum to recover for their injuries. As I discussed in a comment to you article, if Mr. Crum intended to crash into the victims, his insurance policy would not cover any judgment for the victims’ injuries due to the intentional act exclusion in every motorcycle policy. As such, if a Judge or Jury convicts Mr. Crum of aggravated assault (or if he pleads guilty), the intentional act exclusion will apply because “intent” is an element of aggravated assault.
Given that Mr. Crum did not make bail, we can assume he does not have sufficient personal assets to pay the victims’ claims. Also, it is nearly impossible to collect a civil judgment related to a personal injury case in Texas; especially, against someone with negligible assets. The judge in the criminal case may order Mr. Crum to pay restitution to the victims, but it’s unlikely they will receive full restitution.
I am interested to know what happens to Mr. Crum, and will search Hood County Court records periodically to follow the cases against him. If I am ever in Hood County, maybe I will go visit Mr. Crum and see what he has to say.
Additional information related to Mr. Crum’s cases is provided below.
Two counts Aggravated Assault
Cause Nos. F229165 and F229166
It sounds like justice is being served, then, and in this case the fact that the wheels grind slow is a good thing. Without the GoPro, though, I doubt it would’ve happened, and you have to wonder how many times the crusty old Crum has pulled similar stunts and gotten clean away with it. Here’s to modern technology in the service of justice. And thank you John B.!
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