NOLANVILLE, Texas (KWTX) – A Central Texas family is now asking for accountability, after learning the driver responsible for the crash that killed two of their family members only received a traffic citation.
On Nov. 6, 2024, Desiree Clark, 23, and Darrius Johnson, 28, died following a collision at the East Central Texas Expressway and Edwards Drive intersection in Nolanville.
That day DeAmber Clarke says her sister, Desiree Clark, was heading down to Austin with her best friend and their boyfriends, watching her two kids for her.
She says they learned of the crash after the driver’s sister got a Life360 notification, going to the scene and then tracking their location to a tow truck business.
“He’s like ‘mm maybe her phone’s in that car,’” DeAmber recalled. “They flip the camera and they showed the car and I see the car and I’m like… How was my best friend and my sister in that car?”
Central Texas family still seeking justice after 2 killed in 2024 crash(DeAmber Clarke)
She says they then began calling around trying to figure out what happened to all four passengers, finally being contacted by Nolanville PD and asked to come to the station.
“He said ‘well okay I hate to inform you this but one of the women passed away in the car accident, I believe it was Desiree Clark,’” DeAmber said, recounting what an officer told her.
The other three passengers were airlifted to a local hospital. Desiree’s cousin, Darrius Johnson, passed away three days later, his parents deciding to pull the plug after doctors told them he wouldn’t improve.
According to a police report, the driver of the other vehicle stopped at a stop sign before proceeding into the intersection and colliding with the vehicle Clark and Johnson were in.
DeAmber says both passengers in the backseat, including Desiree, were ejected from the vehicle. The engine was also knocked out of the car.
Yolanda Clark, Desiree’s mother, says she still questions whether the driver came to a complete stop. “If you look at the crash scene, there’s no way you made a complete stop and split that car in half,” she said.
Family learned of citation nearly two years later
Nolanville Police Department Sgt. Arturo Ramos confirmed the driver was issued a citation for failing to yield the right of way. However, because the driver did stop at the sign, Ramos says the incident does not meet the threshold for gross negligence and therefore does not amount to criminal charges.
“We are just finding this out almost two years later that he only received a citation, as if he didn’t use his blinker,” DeAmber said. “You killed two people.”
Which is why she says they’re now pushing for greater consequences against the driver, hoping to get justice for them.
“Nothing’s going to bring Desi back, nothing’s going to bring… everything that we went through back, but this is a slap in the face,” DeAmber shared.
Sgt. Ramos adds that this intersection is “very prone to accidents for the same reason” and that officers frequently respond to crashes there.
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