Press release
Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said a man from the Eustace area was charged with murder Wednesday after he intentionally hit another man with his truck.
Robert Clayton Bradley, 28, was traveling with a female passenger on FM 2709 toward Athens early yesterday morning when he saw the victim on foot.
Hillhouse said an investigation indicates Bradley passed Rodney Abbott, 30, also from the Eustace area, stopped his truck and made a U-turn. He then drove the vehicle into Abbott at a high rate of speed, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Bradley then fled the scene of the crime and was located by Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Deputies at his nearby home.
392nd District Judge Scott McKee issued an arrest warrant for murder and bond was set at $2.5 million.
Both Bradley and his female passenger were taken to a hospital in Tyler for treatment of injuries caused by the collision. After hitting and killing Abbott, the truck careened into a pasture and hit a large tree.
The Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers, Texas Rangers, Henderson County District Attorney’s Office and Eustace Police Department assisted Hillhouse and his Deputies in the investigation.
Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Randy Daniel conducted the inquest, and Abbott’s body was taken to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas for an autopsy.
Henderson County Court at Law Judge Scott Williams issued the search warrants for the investigation.
