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Farren Michelle Hawkins

Age : 38

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 07/24/2021

Location : Highway 71 near Marble Falls

City : Marble Falls

County : Burnet

State : Texas

Agency : Marble Falls Police Department, Llano County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/24/2021, Marble Falls Police attempted to stop a motorcycle driven by Robert Williams after an officer observed an expired registration. Williams continued driving away while Marble Falls police pursued. The pursuit continued west on U.S. Highway 71 into Llano County, with speeds reported to exceed 100 mph. Deputies from the Llano County Sheriff's Office joined the pursuit as it crossed county lines.
According to investigators, Williams repeatedly passed other vehicles in no-passing zones, drove into oncoming traffic, and used the highway shoulder to overtake traffic while Farren Michelle Hawkins rode as his passenger. Near Marble Falls, Williams attempted to pass another vehicle on the right shoulder, clipped the vehicle, lost control of the motorcycle, and both riders were thrown from the bike.
Williams sustained serious injuries and survived. Hawkins suffered catastrophic head and multiple traumatic injuries and was airlifted to Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin. After four days of treatment, she died from her injuries on 07/28/2021.
The pursuit, which began over an expired registration violation, later became the focus of a murder prosecution against Williams rather than a review of the officers' actions. Burnet County prosecutors argued that by choosing to continue driving at extremely high speeds while police pursued, Williams knowingly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death to Hawkins and the public. In September 2022, a jury convicted Williams of murder for Hawkins' death and sentenced him to 28 years in prison. He was also convicted of evading arrest with a motor vehicle.
The publicly available reporting does not identify the pursuing officers, nor does it indicate that any outside agency found Marble Falls Police or the Llano County Sheriff's Office violated pursuit policy. We found no publicly reported civil lawsuit filed by Hawkins' family challenging the pursuit itself. The criminal case instead focused almost entirely on Williams' actions during the pursuit and his responsibility for Hawkins' death.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.dailytrib.com/2022/09/16/man-guilty-of-murder-in-motorcycle-chase-death-gets-28-years/
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/hill-country/marble-falls-man-sentenced-to-28-years-in-connection-with-deadly-police-chase/
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/marble-falls-deadly-motorcycle-chase/269-0a5a9319-e7a2-4e53-a4f7-9a54a6f8f883