Today a Hood County jury found William Crum GUILTY of Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Assault Causing Severe Bodily Injury. William Crum has been sentenced to 15 years for both charges.

Eric Sanders and Debra Simpson have long awaited this day of justice.

On October 17th of 2015 Eric Sanders, Debra Simpson and their friends set out for what they thought would be a beautiful day on their bikes. On that Monday afternoon something tragic happened, instead. William Crum was travelling down the same road that day. When an attempt was made to pass Crum, he side-swiped Sanders and his girlfriend, Debra Simpson. They were thrown from the bike. Debra was transported via air ambulance to Texas Health Harris Hospital in Fort Worth and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, where she underwent several surgeries and began her long road to recovery. Eric was treated and released that day from Lake Granbury Medical Center. He remained by Debra’s side throughout her recovery.

Crum was arrested on October 19th on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony.

Below is footage from a GoPro camera worn by a rider the afternoon of the crash. The contents can be disturbing. Please be advised.

*

A little background on Crum:

This was not the first time Crum had a run in with the local law enforcement, including Hood County & Somervell County. It was also not the first time he had been accused of misconduct with a motor vehicle, according to court and arrest records.

On July 28, 1989, he was arrested by Arlington police for assault and family violence, later to be charged and sentenced to 1 year probation. He was also ordered to pay an unspecified restitution for this crime. Jump forward a few years to Aug. 23, 1993, Crum was picked up by Granbury PD for silent or abusive calls to a 9-1-1 call center – a class B misdemeanor that was later dismissed.
Approximately 6 months later, he was picked up by Somervell County Sheriff’s Deputies for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle – a 3rd degree felony in which he entered a plea of no contest. Crum was convicted of the charge on Sept. 26, 1994, which resulted in $87 in court costs, 80 hours of community service and 2 years of community supervision.
13 years later, he was charged yet again with improper use of a vehicle by the Somervell County Sheriff’s Department. He was observed to be driving recklessly on March 28, 2007, but this time was also charged with making a terroristic threat. Despite pleading ‘not guilty’ to the charge of making a terroristic threat, he was later convicted of both charges and confined to two years in jail, while being forced to pay $500 in court fines and a $612 court fines.