Family of Denison school teacher killed in car crash voice support for ‘Colton’s Law’

DENISON, Texas (KXII) - A Texas state representative has filed a bill that would require law enforcement to test a driver’s blood for drugs or alcohol if they hit a pedestrian and cause serious injury or death.

The bill, House Bill 1287 is named ‘Colton’s Law’ after Colten Carney, an autistic Royce City man who was hit and killed by a driver while walking to work back in January of 2017.

Carney’s body was tested for the presence of drugs, but the driver involved in the accident was not tested. Under current Texas law officers can use their own judgement on whether to test a driver’s blood-alcohol content when they hit a pedestrian.

For John Palmer, who’s wife Katie a Denison teacher was hit and killed by a driver, Cory Foster in April of 2020, he said had HB-1287 been law at the time there would be accountability for he death of his wife.

“What this bill does is it eliminates any bad decisions that are made on scene,” Palmer said.

Foster was administered a field sobriety test on scene and according to the DPS crash investigation report Foster blew a .06 on a breathalyzer 50 minutes after he killed Katie Palmer.

State Rep. Terry Meza, HD-105, and the author of the bill said members of the “Justice for Katie Palmer” group have voiced their support for the bill which accounts for not only fatal accidents, but accidents that cause serious bodily injury.

“Her death will not be for not, that it will come to be part of a bill that’s important in the future for the state of Texas,” Meza said. “What a beautiful person she was, and not just talking about beauty externally but a beautiful person inside, what a good person she was that it makes you want all the more to get justice for her.”

John Palmer has followed a civil case against Cory Foster which he said he hopes will bring to light more information about Katie’s death which he hopes will convince the district attorney’s office to bring the case to a grand jury.

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