Houston, Texas (February 4th, 2013) — On October 19, 2012, high school students, Shawn Williams, Jr. (age 16) and Shay Hollingshead (age 17) had just left work for the day and were waiting for a red light to turn green at the intersection of Garth Road and Rollingbrook Drive. A few minutes past 10:00 pm, Shay’s Ford Focus was struck by another vehicle, causing Shay’s car to immediately burst into flames consuming both the driver and passenger. Shawn was pronounced dead at the scene. Shay is now enduring the consequences of the collision.
Shay’s Ford Focus was struck as a result of a high-speed chase conducted by the Baytown Police Department in pursuit of shoplifters Shannon Joe Chauncey and Jennifer Rene Jenkins. Just prior to the collision a member of the Baytown Police Department deployed a so-called “spike strip.” The moment Chauncey and Jenkins traversed the spike strip they lost control of their vehicle and crashed violently into Shawn and Shay. This was an unnecessary and preventable tragedy.
Shawn Williams, Sr., Pleshette Williams and Joe Hollingshead will be filing suit against the City of Baytown and Shannon Joe Chauncey on behalf of their sons tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Harris County Civil Courthouse. The families will make a brief statement and take questions at 11:30 a.m.
