Trial Begins For TX Woman Who Severely Injured Repossessor

A 49-year-old Beaumont woman is standing trial this week for allegedly hitting a repo man with car seriously injuring his legs in September 2023.

Carla Culver, 49, of Beaumont, is standing trial before Judge John Stevens in Jefferson County’s Criminal District Court on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. The charge is a second degree felony.

A jury was seated Monday with opening statements and testimony beginning on Tuesday.

Mike Laird, of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, is prosecuting the case and Todd Leblanc is defending Culver.

Culver is accused of driving her car forward while a repo agent was underneath the vehicle’s hood, causing severe leg injuries that required emergency surgery, according to a probable cause affidavit in the case.

Witnesses told police that the man was attempting to repossess Culver’s vehicle when she drove forward, crushing the his leg between two vehicles outside Temptations Gentleman Club at 5900 College St, according to the affidavit.

When officers got there, the man was found lying on the ground with a catastrophic leg injury. Beaumont EMS medics reported the man was in critical condition. His leg was “ripped open and mangled,” with his left foot turned at an unnatural angle, the affidavit said.

Culver admitted to police that she saw and heard the man underneath the car’s hood, according to the affidavit. While she told police she didn’t how the car accelerated, detective noted in the affidavit that her actions were “reckless” in driving forward with the hood up while someone was in front of the vehicle.