A U.S. Border Patrol agent continues to recover from horrific injuries he sustained in December after being struck by an impaired motorcyclist, which caused the agent to lose vision in one eye and the prospect of total blindness along with other ongoing medical issues.
The agent, T.R., was flown from the State Route 80 checkpoint in Tombstone on Dec. 10 to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson with what was publicly described at the time as critical injuries.
Now, Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed the agent suffered multiple fractures to his face, including his eye sockets. He also experienced a brain injury caused by damage to his carotid artery which supplies blood to the brain, face, and neck.
Meanwhile, the motorcyclist is identified in court documents as Derek M. Roberts of Benson. He too was flown to Banner UMC for injuries sustained when he ran his motorcycle into the Tombstone checkpoint at a speed close to 60 mph around 6 p.m.
Roberts, 53, came off the motorcycle when it hit a safety barrier. The motorcycle then careened and hit T.R., who was assigned to conduct vehicle inspections on SR80. The checkpoint is located north of Tombstone along SR80 which runs from the Arizona / Mexico border to Interstate 10.
Initial charges were filed against Roberts on Dec. 12 upon his release from the hospital. He was later indicted by a county grand jury on seven counts of felony aggravated assault as well as criminal damage and driving while impaired.
Roberts was arraigned Jan. 3 at which time bail was confirmed in the amount of $100,000. Court records show Roberts has remained in the Cochise County jail since his arrest.
A pretrial hearing on Feb. 13 ended after three minutes when Roberts’ court-appointed lawyer requested a continuance. Judge Joel Larson rescheduled the hearing to March 6, but Deputy Public Defender Rodrigo Andrade recently asked for that hearing to be continued as well.
The case against Roberts is being prosecuted on behalf of the State of Arizona by Lori Zucco, chief criminal deputy of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office. Zucco has filed a notice with the court that the State intends to allege various aggravating factors at trial.
Those include the severity of injuries to T.R. and the fact Roberts has two prior DUI convictions.