Man arrested in Granbury motorcycle wreck after Hood County DA investigates

A 68-year-old driver involved in a weekend motorcycle wreck that left a woman in critical condition was arrested Monday night, Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said.

William Crum faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony, for his involvement in the motorcycle wreck, Rob Christian, Hood County district attorney, told the Star-Telegram on Monday night.

Crum’s bail was set Tuesday morning at $75,000 for each charge, Deeds said.

Eric Sanders, 37, of Granbury was driving a Kawasaki motorcycle south on Tin Top Highway on Saturday when a swerving vehicle driven by Crum caused him to crash, throwing him and his passenger, Debra Simpson, 38, from the bike.

The district attorney was investigating whether the wreck was intentional Monday afternoon.

The woman injured in the wreck was flown to Texas Health Harris Hospital Fort Worth, where she remained in intensive care Monday, said Trooper Dub Gillum, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman. Sanders was treated and released at the scene but later sought medical treatment.

Gillum said the wreck, which was captured on video taken from another motorcycle, occurred when Sanders tried to pass a 1996 Mercury sedan in a no-passing zone. As Sanders approached, the car driven by Crum swerved left, forcing Sanders to lose control of the motorcycle.

On the video, which had close to 3 million views on Facebook, Crum says, “I don’t care” at the scene of the wreck after he is told he hit Sanders and “I don’t care” again after he is told the crash was captured on video. Crum says on the video that he was stung by “a wasp or something,” causing him to swerve as Sanders tried to pass.

He later told media partner WFAA that he was bitten by an insect near his groin, which caused him to swerve into the motorcycle.

Sanders was cited at the scene for passing in a no-passing zone and for driving with an invalid license.

Both Sanders and Simpson were wearing helmets.

A GoFundMe page for Simpson and Sanders had brought in more than $5,700 in donations by Monday night.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Man arrested in Granbury motorcycle wreck after Hood County DA investigates."