on road tragedy

Domestic dispute on highway leaves unsuspecting driver dead, son injured

UPDATE: The Harris County Sheriff's Office reports Tuesday morning that 2-year-old Alejandro "A.J." Vercher died of his injuries from the accident. Investigators with the Harris County district attorney's office and the HCSO continue to work on the case.

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A violent marital dispute is to blame for a tragic weekend crash that left a woman dead and her preschool-aged son in critical condition.

Harris County officials say that Emil McMahon was allegedly attempting to run his wife off FM 1943 in his Chevy Silverado pickup Sunday morning.

Just before 11 a.m., the husband swerved into oncoming traffic near Baytown and collided with a Nissan sedan driven by Tania M. Vercher, an area events photographer. Vercher's young child was strapped in a forward-facing car seat at the center of the backseat.

"I heard the roar of an engine, so I turned around and saw this truck lose control and start spinning sideways."

"I heard the roar of an engine, so I turned around and saw this truck lose control and start spinning sideways," witness Chris McCoy tells KTRK Channel 13.

He saw the truck burst in flames and dashed to the sedan to rescue the child, who was taken to Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center with serious injuries.

"At that point, I went back to try to get the mother out, but was advised not to," McCoy says. "Whatever it was in the truck, I guess it was bullets, started popping off . . . Everybody was told to clear the area."

Vercher died of her injuries at the scene, while McMahon and his wife left the incident relatively unscathed.

According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, charges will be filed against McMahon pending the results of blood tests taken after the crash.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”