Former Missouri City Officer Sentenced To 15 Years After Deadly High-Speed Crash

March 29, 2026

Former Missouri City Police Department officer Blademir Viveros has been sentenced to 15 years after a police crash that killed three people, including a mother, her teenage son, and a man who had been detained in the back of Viveros’ patrol vehicle.

The crash happened on June 20, 2024, on Cartwright Road in Missouri City. According to prosecutors and local reporting, Viveros was responding to a robbery call when his police SUV slammed into a car occupied by 53-year-old Angela Stewart and her son, 16-year-old Mason Stewart. Mason had reportedly just turned 16, and his mother was in the passenger seat as the two were leaving a nearby parking lot.

Angela Stewart and Mason Stewart died at the scene. A third man, Michael Hawkins, had been detained during an earlier call and was in the back of Viveros’ police vehicle at the time of the crash. Hawkins was reportedly found hours later, seriously injured. He was left paralyzed and later died from complications related to the crash.

In March 2026, a Fort Bend County jury found Viveros guilty of three counts of aggravated assault by a public servant. He was sentenced to 15 years for each victim, with the sentences to be served at the same time.

Prosecutors said Viveros was driving at extreme speed without his emergency lights or siren activated. ABC13 reported that prosecutors said he was traveling 107 mph at the time of the crash, while FOX 26 reported that the posted speed limit on Cartwright Road was 40 mph.

That means the former officer was accused of driving more than double the speed limit through a public roadway, in a police vehicle, with a detained man in the back seat, and without using the emergency warning equipment meant to alert the public that a police vehicle is approaching.

The case was not treated as a simple traffic mistake. Prosecutors argued that Viveros knowingly placed lives at risk. The aggravated assault by a public servant charges carried serious consequences because Viveros was acting in his role as a police officer when the crash occurred.

Defense attorneys argued that the crash was a tragic accident, a lapse in judgment, and a policy violation rather than a felony-level criminal act. The jury rejected that argument and convicted Viveros on all three aggravated assault counts.

The details surrounding Hawkins’ death made the case even more disturbing. He was not a driver or passenger in the civilian vehicle. He was a detained person in the back of the police SUV. Reporting from the trial stated that he had been taken into custody during a separate call before Viveros responded to the robbery call. After the crash, Hawkins was reportedly not discovered until hours later.

That detail is hard to ignore. Police officers are responsible not only for the public outside their vehicles, but also for the people they detain and transport. A person in police custody has limited control over what happens next. When that person is placed in the back of a patrol vehicle, the officer driving that vehicle becomes responsible for their safety.

Viveros’ actions destroyed multiple families. Angela Stewart and Mason Stewart were killed instantly. Michael Hawkins survived long enough to suffer devastating injuries before later dying. Families were left to sit in court and describe the consequences of one officer’s choices behind the wheel.

After the sentencing, FOX 26 reported emotional victim impact statements from family members. Angela Stewart’s daughter said the officer’s job was to protect and serve, but that protection requires care and caution. Another family friend said Viveros ended Angela and Mason’s journey but would never erase their memory.

This case is another reminder that dangerous driving by police is not a minor issue just because the person behind the wheel is wearing a badge. A police cruiser can become a deadly weapon when driven recklessly. Lights, sirens, speed limits, department policies, and basic caution exist for a reason.

When officers ignore those safeguards, the public pays the price. In this case, three people paid with their lives.

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