On Wednesday, in the 240th courtroom at the Fort Bend County Courthouse, video from the crash and of the victims was shown for the first time in this deadly 2024 case.
Investigators say former Missouri City Police officer Blademir Viveros was responding to a robbery when his cruiser crashed into a car driven by 16-year-old Mason Stewart.
His mom, Angela, was in the passenger seat as they celebrated his 16th birthday. Both died in the crash.
ORIGINAL REPORT: 16-year-old ‘died on his birthday’ when Missouri City police car hit him and his mom, dad says
A man in the back of the police car later died after being left there for hours following the crash. His family identified him as Michael Hawkins.
Opening statements took place this morning in the trial against former Missouri City police officer Blademir Viveros.
This marks the start of what is expected to be an emotional trial for those who knew and loved the victims, as well as everyone involved in the calls that day.
On Wednesday, the courtroom heard that former officer Viveros was driving 105 mph while responding to an emergency call without his lights or sirens on, with a detainee in the back of his police car.
For the first time in this case, portions of police body camera video were played showing images of Angela and Mason, who died instantly when Viveros’s police car crashed into them.
In the courtroom, family members embraced each other, tears in their eyes as they watched.
In one of the body camera videos from a responding officer, you can hear Viveros tell an officer on the scene that a car cut in front of him and that his toe was injured in the crash.
“They say bad things happen in threes. On June 20, 2024, very bad things happened in three,” Fort Bend County DA’s Office Chief Prosecutor of Vehicular Crimes Division, Alison Baimbridge, said.
Investigators say that hours after the crash and after putting out a fire on the police vehicle, they realized Michael Hawkins had been in the back seat of Viveros’s police car the entire time without a seat belt.
He was paralyzed and eventually died 7 months after the crash from his injuries.
“Impossible to forget or not remember that you have a prisoner in the back seat,” Baimbridge said.
Investigators say Hawkins was taken into custody at a separate assault call near Cartwright Road, down the street before the crash happened.
“A community the defendant swore to protect. Instead, he’s putting everyone at risk. Everyone’s in danger. Speeds of almost triple the speed limit-107 and climbing down Cartwright Road with Mr. Hawkins unrestrained in the back seat,” Baimbridge said in her opening statements to jurors.
On Wednesday, the courtroom heard testimony from a Missouri City Police Department officer and a sergeant who were at the assault call with Viveros that evening before the deadly crash.
Both officers testified they didn’t know Viveros had left for the nearby robbery call with Hawkins in the back of his police car.
SEE ALSO: Trial begins for former MCPD officer charged in 2024 crash that killed mom, son and 1 other person
They also heard from the police chief, a supervisor, another responding officer, and an eyewitness who heard the crash from the parking lot of the dollar store.
“In the end, this was an accident caused by human error, a lapse of judgment, and a horrible result. It does not deserve a first-degree felony charge or to be tried in district court for this charge,” defense attorney Robert McCabe, representing Viveros, said.
McCabe said in court that while there is evidence of the crash that ultimately killed several people, there was no intent by Viveros.
Eyewitness News also learned today that Viveros’ supervisor, Missouri City PD Sgt. Cinttia Argueta was disciplined and demoted after the events of June 20, 2024. She says she appealed, was suspended for twenty days, but was ultimately allowed to keep her sergeant title.
A department supervisor confirmed that Viveros accelerated from 44 mph to 105 mph on Cartwright Road with his lights and sirens off, just before crashing into the car of Angela and Mason Stewart as they left a dollar store parking lot.
“The defendant made a conscious choice to turn off his emergency equipment at 107 mph while climbing through intersections and around other cars, all at the same time, Mason Stewart was trying to drive his mom home on his birthday,” Baimbridge said.
“You’re going to hear that it is not uncommon not only with Missouri City, but other law enforcement agencies in the state that sometimes you turn off your lights and sirens as you approach a dynamic, involving, dangerous scene like an armed robbery in progress, which is what he believed was going on because dispatch was telling him,” McCabe said. “Because why? You want to sneak up on people. You don’t want to create a hostage scenario. That is not uncommon.”
Viveros seemed calm in court as he listened and watched, but was visibly affected when his supervisor, a sergeant, took the stand and became emotional as she explained, in tears, how hard it was to testify in this case.
Interim Missouri City Police Department Chief Kevin Burleson was on the stand when the judge paused the trial for the day. The trial will resume on Thursday morning at 9 a.m.
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