Police say son ran over mom after fight

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A 45-year-old man who police said ran over his mother in South Austin on Thursday night is charged with murder.

The events unfolded in front of both police and EMS workers around 7 p.m. at the intersection of South Lamar Boulevard and Lamar Square Drive,   near the Lamar Plaza Shopping Center.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services crews were helping Virginia Samuelson, 72, whom police said was injured during an altercation with her son, Shaun David Samuelson. The emergency team was trying to place the woman into an ambulance when they heard a car speeding toward them.

Police say Virginia Samuelson called for help after her son had assaulted after an argument over money. She told them she refused to give Shaun money and expressed concerns about his lifestyle. EMS workers said she suffered several injuries to her head and face in that altercation.

Virginia Samuelson was loaded onto a gurney and pictures were taken of her injuries when EMTs said they heard the truck accelerating towards them. The driver did not slow down and collided with the woman, dragging her and the gurney about 30 feet.

Police said Shaun Samuelson got out of the car and ran, but officers quickly caught up to him. During a brief interview with the homicide unit, he seemed to accept responsibility for his actions according to police.

“All he would say is that he was going to jail for the rest of his life because he killed his mother,” said Cmdr. Julie O’Brien with the APD Violent Crimes Unit.

Nobody else was hurt in the incident, although O’Brien said many of the workers on the scene have struggled with what happened.

“This was a horrible sequence of events for the people who loved her but also for the emergency workers who tried everything to save Virginia and instead had to watch her be run over and killed," she said.

Shaun Samuelson remained in custody on Friday with bail at $500,000.

The family had a history of violence.

A protective order was filed in 2006 after an incident where Shaun Samuelson was accused of hitting his mother in the head with a metal rod after an argument concerning the remodeling of his condominium.