Pedistrian dies on US 281 Sunday night

By Glynis Crawford Smith

and Lew K. Cohn

The Highlander

A 36-year-old man was struck and killed Sunday night, July 30, on US 281 in Marble Falls.

Jerrod Bradford Young was walking alone down the middle of the inside, southbound lane in the 3300 block of US 281, when he was struck by a Chevy Tahoe, according to Marble Falls Police Capt. Glenn Hanson.

The call came in to the Marble Falls Police Department at 10:53 p.m. but, after the Marble Falls Area Emergency Medical Service arrived, Young was declared dead at the scene.

The driver of the Tahoe — Jimmy Lerma, 49, of Marble Falls — was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated, Hanson said.

“The body has been sent to the Travis County Medical Examiner for autopsy,” said Hanson. “There were witnesses at the scene. Other motorists stopped. But we have just begun the investigation and identification of witnesses.”

According to information gathered so far, Young was staying at Motel 6, located on Ollie Street that intersects on the 4000 block of US 281.

Young was native of Mount Pleasant, Texas. Young’s wife, Jennifer Caddel, said her husband had just gotten out of the Leblanc Unit, a pre-release facility in Beaumont, last week and had come to Marble Falls to start a new life with her.

“He had two kids, he loved life, Jesus, and his family,” she said of her husband. “He left behind the love of his life and everyone that loved him. He was the life of the party, the kind of guy who could always make you smile and make friends everywhere he went.

“He was the smartest man I knew and he was a devout Christian. He made mistakes, but he always did his best to correct them.”

Caddel said police asked her to identify her husband by describing the clothes he was wearing when she saw him last.

Lerma is scheduled to appear in district court on Monday, Aug. 7, for a jury trial on second-degree felony charges of obstruction or retaliation against an informant or witness dating to October 13, 2016.

According to a February 2017 indictment obtained by The Highlander, Lerma allegedly threatened to harm a witness who had been an informant against him in his 1990 probation revocation hearing on a criminal mischief charge.

Lerma’s probation was revoked and he was sentenced to three years in prison on June 25, 1990.

Lerma has several arrests on his record, including for possession of a controlled substance, criminal mischief, assault and several other misdemeanor offenses.

Young is the second pedestrian since July 2016 to have been killed on US 281. On July 19, 2016, at 5:15 a.m., David Paul Vanscoy, 54, of Marble Falls, was struck by two vehicles while trying to cross the highway in the 3100 block in the curve of the roadway near Lowe’s.

Marble Falls Police Capt. Glenn Hanson said Vanscoy was walking from the Motel6 on the east side of the highway, where he was staying, to the Kwik Chek in the 1000 block of Rural Road 1431, just west of the US 281 intersection, where he worked as a manager.

“He was in the outside southbound lane when he was hit,” Hanson said.

A tan, late 1990s model Chevrolet pickup truck struck Vanscoy first, and then a black 2000s model Ford SUV struck him as well. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No charges were filed against the drivers in that 2016 case as there was no indication of any alcohol or driver impairment, Hanson said.