Teen in a coma after crash involving HPD cruiser while riding scooter in downtown, family says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A 16-year-old high school student, Jose Sixtos, is fighting for his life after colliding with a Houston Police Department cruiser while riding a rented scooter in downtown Houston on Saturday.

Jose Sixtos is currently being treated at Ben Taub Hospital. According to his family, he and his friend, Santos Deondrey, had planned a fun outing downtown.

“I had dropped him off at a friend’s house because he wanted to go downtown and have fun,” said Sergio Sixtos, Jose’s older brother. “He was just going to ride scooters.”

Around 9:30 on Saturday evening, Jose collided with the HPD vehicle while heading to Discovery Green to meet friends. The accident occurred at the intersection of Crawford and Rusk Street, where the teens had rented the scooters.

“I’m not sure if the cop’s light was green or not; he’s not stopping, he’s just going,” said Deondrey, who was not hurt but witnessed the accident. “I just saw my friend try to turn, to go around, not to get hit.”

Sergio recalled the moment he heard the news: “When I was about to pick him up, his friend called and said, ‘Your brother got hit.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean he got hit?’ and he Facetimed me and said, ‘Yeah, a cop car ran him over.'”

Houston police say the investigation is in its early stages. The initial HPD accident report indicates the police car had a green light on Rusk, and the teenager was turning onto Crawford. However, the friend claims both the police car and the scooter were on the same street.

HPD stated that a Vehicular Crimes investigator would need to piece together the events to determine the cause of the crash. The intersection where the accident occurred is near the back of the Marriott Marquis Hotel and Hampton Inn, so surveillance footage will likely be available.

“I just want to see the dash cam on the cop car,” Sergio said.

The prognosis for Jose is uncertain. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Patricia Rivera, Jose’s mother. “The doctor gave a prognosis, and it’s going to take about a year if he recovers.”

As of Monday, Jose remains in a coma.

attempted to contact the company responsible for the rented scooters, but calls went unanswered.