Calling 911: What you need to know
Calling 911 is for emergencies only, but what counts as an emergency?
A man in Texas died in a car crash minutes after he was allegedly fleeing the home where his stepfather was found murdered.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), in a post on Facebook, said it received a 911 call for a welfare check at a home in Magnolia shortly before 9 a.m. on June 26. Authorities arrived at the residence and found a 77-year-old man with multiple injuries to his head, the social media post continued.
Magnolia is about 45 miles north of Houston.
MCSO Assistant Chief Rick Bass said during a news conference that the deceased “had multiple sharp force trauma to the head” and that a machete was found nearby.
Just two minutes before the 911 call, a crash was reported 400 feet from the home, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of the vehicle, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was involved in “what appears to be an intentional head on collision with a dump truck while fleeing the scene,” the law enforcement agency added.
The 59-year-old driver of the dump truck was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, the sheriff’s office said.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to authorities.
Rick Bass: Authorities ‘interviewing family members’
The homicide victim found inside the Magnolia home was identified as Jeffry Love, 77, while the deceased driver who was “fleeing the scene” was identified as his stepson, Nicholas Petropolis, 35, the sheriff’s office said.
During the news conference, Bass said this incident “appears to be a murder-suicide.” Petropolis was seen by witnesses fleeing the scene shortly after the murder, he added.
While the sheriff’s office did not detail the motive behind the crime, it said the incident appeared to be an isolated one between family members and that there was no threat to the public. Bass added that there was no known history of family violence reported at the Magnolia home.
Bass said that authorities are “interviewing family members” and that there is “no indication that there was any type of toxic relationship between the stepson and the stepfather.”
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Scott Spencer said on July 1 that there was no new information to share regarding this incident.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
