Jose Sixtos, 16, remains in a coma after colliding with a police vehicle while riding a scooter in downtown Houston, his family says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A 16-year-old high school student is fighting for his life after colliding with a Houston Police Department cruiser while riding a rented scooter in downtown Houston on Saturday.

According to Jose Sixtos’ family, he is in Ben Taub Hospital.

This afternoon, Sixtos and his friend, Santos Deondrey, wanted to go downtown.

His older brother, Sergio Sixtos, said the teenagers wanted to have fun.

“I dropped him off at a friend’s house because he wanted to go into town and have some fun,” he said. “He just wanted to ride his scooter.”

On Saturday, around 9:30 p.m., Jose collided with the Houston police cruiser while trying to get to Discovery Green to meet friends. The crash happened at the corner of Crawford and Rusk Street, the same corner where the teens had rented the scooters.

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“I don’t know if the policeman’s light was green or not. He doesn’t stop, he goes,” said Deondrey, who was not injured but saw the crash. “I just see my buddy. He tried to take the turn, go around, not get hit.”

“As I was going to pick him up, his friend called me and said, ‘Your brother got hit,’” Sergio said. “I asked him, ‘What do you mean he got hit?’ and he called me on Facetime and said, ‘Yeah, a police car hit him.’”

Houston police say the investigation is in its early stages.

The initial Philadelphia police report states that the police car had a green light on Rusk and the teen was turning onto Crawford. However, the friend claims the police car and the scooter were on the same street.

According to HPD, a vehicular crime investigator will have to piece together exactly what happened and determine the cause of the crash. The intersection where the crash occurred is bordered by the back of the Marriott Marquis and the Hampton Inn, so it’s likely surveillance video is available.

“I just want to see the police car’s dash cam,” Sergio said.

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The prognosis for the injured teenager is uncertain. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Patricia Rivera, Jose’s mother. “The doctor gave a prognosis, and it’s going to be about a year if he recovers.”

As of Monday, the teenager was still in a coma.

ABC13 tried to contact the company responsible for the rental scooters, but our calls went unanswered.

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