| Linda Myer and Judy Jones talked on the phone almost every night.
The two met around 1995 and became best friends, sharing a love for antiques.
"We were soul mates," said Myer, of Katy. "We went everywhere and did everything together."
When she received a call from Judy's husband Bob on an August day last year, Myer was in stunned disbelief. Judy, who lived in Simonton and was known as JJ by everyone, had been run over and killed by a truck in Wallis.
On Wednesday, Myer, Bob Jones and Jones' four children and other family members appeared at the Wallis City Council meeting to witness the approval of "JJ's Policy", which Mayor Tony Salazar said will "reinforce the Wallis Police Department's commitment to follow a proper and thorough procedure for investigating major accidents" on roadways within the corporate limits of the city, including Texas 36, near where Judy was struck and killed.
The policy does not signify a change in procedures, said Police Chief Carl Cearley. It just states what the police department would do in incidents such as the runaway truck that killed Judy Jones in August 2006. The policy states what the police department normally does in various situations, Cearley said.
JJ's Policy states that it will be "the intent of the Wallis Police Department and the city of Wallis to request that the Texas Department of Public Safety be the secondary investigative authority in these cases. The city of Wallis Police Department will assume the lead investigative position and with assistance and consultation from the DPS do a thorough and complete investigation of all such cases."
Jones died when she was struck by a Bison Building Materials Ltd. truck which, traveling south, had veered off Texas 36 and onto the sidewalk where she was standing near her business, JJ's Stuff N Such. The truck driver, Silvio Henao, of Richmond, was no-billed by a grand jury last December.
Bob Jones and his family were angered that the investigation yielded no traffic charges against Henao, and they were equally upset about the grand jury's decision. Wallis Police Officer Ronnie Griffin investigated the crash and said he turned information over to the Austin County District Attorney's Office. He said in August that filing a charge after the grand jury no-billed Henao would be a moot point.
Bob Jones, who spoke to and thanked the Council, said he and his family want justice for Judy. He said he will continue to investigate the incident, as he said he does not think it is closed. Salazar said the investigation remains open.
Salazar told the Council about the "overriding and determining factors that came into play" in drafting JJ's Policy. Factor one was that the "final unilateral authority" on investigations resides in the Wallis Police Department.
"The second factor is that professional rules of conduct prohibit (an) elected governing body like ourselves from exerting any type of pressure that might influence the final outcome of a given investigation," he said. "And the third determining factor was the Council's overwhelming desire to do something. Therefore, what can we do that is within our boundaries and authority? That is what really bought us to this point."
Salazar said the Jones family suffered a tremendous loss that day last year, and nothing the Council can do will change that. But the Council can assure that if a similar incident occurs in the future, then city leaders, police department, emergency responders and residents will "follow proper procedures to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted."
Salazar said someone asked him whether the city has a policy that determines the investigation of an incident such as the one that claimed Judy's life. The city received a copy of the police department's procedure manual, and there was nothing that included information such as the incident that killed her, Salazar said.
The city then consulted with the DPS's regional office in Brenham to inform the agency of the city's intentions to draft a policy, and the city received clearance, Salazar said. The city also informed Cearley of its intentions.
"I have to tell you that as simple as this policy is, it's probably the first of its kind," Salazar said. "We take for granted that procedures like this is a given. Yet it's not. To actually see something in black and white prepares us for what could happen in the future."
Salazar said the city does not want to influence investigations with the policy.
Bob Jones told the Council that he has asked Cearley to continue the investigation.
"He wants to do what is right," Bob Jones said, adding that officer Griffin, who investigated the accident, and Salazar want to do what is right, too.
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