Texas: Woman charged after officer struck by vehicle, falls from freeway

• A woman has been charged with intoxication assault after the vehicle she was driving struck an officer and caused him to jump more than fifteen feet from the Southwest Freeway on Friday morning.

Officers R. Carter and C. Herrera were both taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Officer Carter, who has served with the Houston Police Department since November 2010, remains in the hospital with injuries determined not to be life-threatening. Officer Herrera was treated for his injuries and released. He has served with HPD since August 2013. Both of them were assigned to the HPD Traffic Enforcement Division’s DWI Task Force.

The officers were investigating a vehicle crash on the Newcastle Street exit from the Southwest Freeway and used their patrol car to block traffic there before 3 a.m. Friday. During their investigation, a black Ford Focus struck Officer Carter's leg and he jumped over the concrete barrier to the frontage road below.

Officer Herrera also jumped over the barrier, more than fifteen feet down.

Other officers arrested Bennett, who drove the Focus.

"You got a 10,000-pound weapon pointed straight at the officers," said one officer at the crime scene.