Michael Robert Creel, 18, a recent graduate of Forsan High School, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident just after 1 p.m. by Howard County Justice of the Peace Benny Green after law enforcement officials say he fell from the back of a pickup truck on Longshore Road, located north of Big Spring.

“The call originally came in from a resident of the area at approximately 12:50 p.m. as a pedestrian hit by a vehicle,” said Mark Hall, chief deputy for the Howard County Sheriff's Office. “Law enforcement arrived on the scene after about four to five minutes and found the victim, a white male, laying on the shoulder of the road. He was dead. It was believed he had either been hit by a vehicle or fell from one.

“We were able to get the victim identified fairly quickly and his family was notified. They were able to tell us who he had been with, so we began the search for the suspect at that time.”

Jeffrey Ray Pierson, 18, of Glasscock County was later located and arrested on a charge of intoxicated manslaughter, according to Hall.

“Pierson was a friend of the victim,” said Hall. “After further investigation we discovered they had been out drinking. We're not sure where they were traveling to, but Creel was in the back of the truck. We're not sure how, but we believe Creel was thrown from the bed of the truck. By thrown, I don't mean thrown by another person, but from the movement of the vehicle.”

Hall said reports that Creel had been beaten or struck by a vehicle are unfounded at this point in the investigation.

“We'll know more once the autopsy is completed,” said Hall. “However, there's no evidence to lead investigators to believe at this time this is anything but a tragic accident. Creel doesn't appear to have been beaten prior to his fall, and there's nothing to indicate he was struck by a vehicle.”

Hall said there may have been at least one other person in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but investigators are unsure at this time.

“There have been some conflicting stories. However, there may have been another person in the pickup,” said Hall. “We're not 100 percent sure at this time.”

Hall said the HCSO received plenty of help from other agencies during the investigation.

“We had assistance from the Department of Public Safety, Big Spring Police Department, Glasscock County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers,” said Hall. “It was that cooperation between the agencies that allowed us to develop the investigation as quickly as we did. We're very grateful for their help.”

Pierson remained in the custody of the Howard County Jail Thursday morning awaiting arraignment.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it