
Lynda Mescher, the owner of a Spicewood horse camp, was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on charges of manslaughter and five counts of injury to a child in connection with a pickup rollover that killed an 11-year-old girl.
Mescher, 47, was carrying 11-year-old Brianna Plehn of Briarcliff along with five other children in the bed of her pickup in January when it rolled over at the Grelle Recreation Area on Lake Travis in Burnet County, officials said.
Plehn was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The other children and Mescher were injured and taken to area hospitals, officials said.
Mescher runs Silver’s Trails, a horse riding ranch in Spicewood. Plehn was attending a weekend camping trip at the ranch when the accident happened, officials said.
The children told investigators that Mescher “was driving fast enough to cause them to fear for their safety,” according to an officer’s affidavit. It is illegal in most circumstances to allow people younger than 18 to ride in the bed of a pickup.
Megan Proctor, 11, also suffered serious injuries in the wreck, according to the affidavit.
Burnet County District Attorney Sam Oatman said he hopes the case will go to trial before the end of the year.