Former U.S. attorney faces felony hit-and-run charges in Houston crash

A former U.S. attorney now faces felony hit-and-run charges after a Memorial Drive crash in Houston left another driver injured and set up a case watched closely in Harris County courtrooms.

Jennifer B. Lowery, who once led the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, is accused in a collision that happened Thursday, May 14, near Memorial Park. Investigators say a black sedan traveling north on Asbury Street struck another car on Memorial Drive, where Gabriel Fonseca had been leaving a church service and heading toward Memorial Park.

Fonseca said the impact was sudden and disorienting. After the airbags deployed, he got out of his car and called 911. Investigators believe the driver of the sedan did not stay to help and left the scene after about two and a half minutes. In a city where Memorial Drive carries heavy traffic and crashes can turn into criminal cases quickly, the surveillance video and the injury allegations now form the backbone of the prosecution.

The legal stakes are significant. Texas Transportation Code Section 550.021 requires a driver involved in an injury or death collision to stop, determine whether anyone needs aid and remain at the scene. Leaving after a collision that causes injury can be punished as a felony, and crashes causing serious bodily injury are classified as third-degree felonies. That means the case is not just about a traffic violation. It now sits squarely in the realm of criminal accountability.

Lowery’s background makes the charges especially notable. Justice Department records say she joined the Southern District of Texas in 2008 and had been with the Department of Justice since 2000. She previously served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, and she was detailed to Washington, D.C., and New York as a hearing officer for the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund. She took the oath of office as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas on April 11, 2022.

The Southern District of Texas is among the busiest federal districts in the country and serves more than nine million people in 43 counties, which helps explain why the conduct of one of its former top prosecutors is drawing such close attention. On October 24, 2022, the Southern District of Texas chapter of the Federal Bar Association awarded Lowery the Michael Taylor Shelby Award for Professionalism in Federal Service. Now, the same legal system she once helped enforce is poised to decide whether she will face the consequences any other Houston defendant would.