Riesel man indicted in bicyclist’s death

RIESEL, Texas (KWTX) - A Riesel man who authorities say was driving with almost three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood was indicted Thursday in the September death of a bicyclist.

A McLennan County grand jury indicted Alexander Jeffery Short on an intoxication manslaughter charge, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Short is charged in the Sept. 2, 2023, traffic death of Rudolph Kurtz Diamond, 57, who was struck and killed while riding a bicycle about 8:25 p.m. on Farm-to-Market Road 1860, just northeast of Old Marlin Road.

According to arrest records, Short, driving a 2016 GMC Sierra pickup truck, struck Diamond from behind and pulled over at the scene. A Department of Public Safety trooper spotted an open Twisted Tea bottle in the driver’s side door and reported that Short smelled strongly of alcohol.

Short admitted to drinking four alcoholic beverages and was asked to perform a series of field sobriety tests, the affidavit alleges.

Short consented to a blood draw, which showed his blood-alcohol content at 0.232 percent, according to arrest records. A person is considered intoxicated under the law with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent.