Man allegedly hits, kills 20-year-old after multiple DWI arrests

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In August of 2021, police arrested Scott Taylor for manslaughter after crashing into—and killing—20-year-old Colton Roberts, a college student, on Jollyville Road in northwest Austin.

Roberts' family, and the attorney now representing them in a civil lawsuit against Taylor, believe he shouldn't have been behind the wheel that day in the first place.

"The evidence in this case suggests that Mr. Taylor would have been exceeding the speed limit, driving with no headlights on, crossing over into oncoming traffic and admitted to smoking a "Blunt" prior to driving," reads his arrest affidavit from the crash.

KXAN dug further into Taylor's case, finding evidence of multiple DWI arrests.

According to his Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) criminal history report, Taylor has two previous misdemeanor DWIs—one in 2000 and another in 2010. They occurred in Travis and Comal counties, respectively.

Unless elevated circumstances are at play, DWIs don't become felonies until an individual's third.

A 2015 arrest affidavit shows Austin Police arresting Taylor for DWI on Taylor Draper Lane. According to his DPS record, this ultimately became a Reckless Driving charge.

We asked the District Attorney's Office as well as the APD what circumstances led to the change in charge. We will update this story when we get a response.

Regarding the crash that killed Roberts, Taylor had been out on bond until a hearing Wednesday morning. Travis County prosecutors filed a motion to revoke the bond because they said Taylor consistently either failed or did not comply with mandatory drug testing, which was a condition of the bond.

A judge granted that motion, and the attorney representing the Roberts family said Taylor will remain in jail until his next hearing at the end of April.

KXAN continues to look through Taylor's records. We also spoke with Roberts' family. Check back later this evening for updates.