Dallas police reported that three people were arrested for DWI after two people were killed in a crash on U.S. Route 75 that involved five vehicles. The wreck happened just after 2:15 a.m. on December 5 in the southbound lanes of the 4200 block of North Central Expressway.
Marsalis Brown, 31, was arrested and charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter in their deaths. Two other drivers — 28-year-old Jose Salazar-Reza and 24-year-old Grayson Tsai Meu Chong — were arrested and charged with DWI.
Investigators found there were five vehicles involved. Two people in one of the vehicles, a 28-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, were pronounced dead at the scene. The victims were later identified as 31-year-old Sergio Moriel and his date, 27-year-old Melissa Aguilar.
It’s unclear if any of the drivers could face additional charges. The southbound lanes were closed for several hours while crews worked to clear the wreck scene.
This was not the first fatal DWI crash Dallas has seen this year. On December 15, KFOX-TV reported that an El Paso native was killed in a crash in Dallas involving three drivers who were under the influence. Melissa Aguilar, 27, was sitting in the passenger seat of car police said was driven by 31-year-old Sergio Moriel. The two both died in a five-vehicle accident on Dec. 5. on a Dallas expressway around 2:20 a.m.
Police arrested 31-year-old Marsalis Brown for two counts of intoxication manslaughter, 28-year-old Jose Salazar-Reza, and Grayson Chong, 24 both were arrested for DWI. A mass for Aguilar was held on Tuesday at St. Stephen Catholic Church in El Paso. The mass was followed by a funeral at Mount Carmel Cemetery.
Aguilar was a teacher at Trinity Basin Preparatory in Dallas and was pursuing her Master’s degree at Stephen F. Austin State University. She was scheduled to graduate in July 2022, with the goal of becoming a school Principal, according to her obituary.
Two people were killed, and two others were injured in a two-vehicle crash on November 25, 2021, in Dallas, Texas. The accident occurred shortly after 12:00 a.m. on Interstate 30 near Dolphin Road. Police reported that the driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe crashed into a 1998 Toyota Camry. Two occupants in the Camry were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Camry and a passenger in the Tahoe were transported to the hospital with unknown injuries. The driver of the Tahoe was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter. No further details have been provided at this time. The crash remains under investigation.
Around 2:30 a.m., a car was driving south in the 1000 block of Good Latimer Expressway, near U.S. Highway 75, when it lost control and hit a building and an electric pole in the 1600 block of the highway, police said. The car caught on fire and the two people inside were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. They had not been identified.
Earlier this month, a 54-year-old man was shot and killed while driving on Central Expressway during a road-rage incident Monday. That happened less than 48 hours after two people died in the five-car pileup in which three people were arrested for drunk driving.
In the incident, Dallas police were called at about 10 p.m. to a major accident on the northbound Central Expressway near the Woodall Rogers ramp. They found Carl Edmiston with a gunshot wound inside his vehicle; he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Edmiston’s 17-year-old son was injured in the leg and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police say the shooter was involved in a road-rage incident with the victim prior to killing him. The shooter continued northbound on Central in a dark-colored vehicle. The drunk-driving pileup happened just after bars closed, at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday, in southbound lanes near the Fitzhugh exit.
In 2019, a Fort Worth woman was in the Arlington Jail and charged with intoxication manslaughter after the deadly crash early New Year’s morning. Arlington police responded to the crash around 6:41 a.m. at the 4800 blocks of the US 287 exit ramp to West Interstate 20.
Police believe that both cars were driving on the exit ramp from northbound US 287 onto westbound I-20 when the driver, Elizabeth Stratton, 35, swerved out of her lane, striking the vehicle Timothy Shorter, 46, was driving, pushing his vehicle into a concrete pillar. Timothy Shorter of Arlington was pronounced dead at the scene.
Get DWI Help in Dallas, TX
If you have been involved in a car accident after allegedly drinking and driving, you can be charged with an intoxication assault in Texas, which can lead to severe penalties if you are convicted. At trial, the Texas prosecutor is required to show beyond a reasonable doubt that you were intoxicated and caused serious bodily injury to another person. Although this burden is high, the prosecutor does not have to show that you intended to hurt another person. The injury could have been the result of an accident or mistake, but you can still be charged with this serious offense.
Intoxication assault can occur if an individual who is intoxicated operates a motor vehicle on a public road and causes serious bodily injury to another person as a result of the intoxication, according to Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 49.07. Even if the offense occurred as a result of an accident or a mistake, the individual can still be charged with DWI assault.
This offense is punishable by a felony of the third degree. If a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical personnel sustained the injury, the alleged offender could be charged with a felony of the second degree.
An individual who has been charged and convicted of an intoxication assault can incur a prison from two to ten years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. If the offense was a second-degree felony because the injury was to a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical personnel, the alleged DWI assault offender could receive a prison sentence from two to 20 years and/or a fine up to $10,000, if convicted.
An individual who is convicted of a first DWI assault could receive a driver’s license suspension from 90 days to one year. If the offender received a second or subsequent DWI assault within five years of the previous offense, their license could be suspended for 90 days to one year plus an additional one year. If the DWI assault offender has previously been convicted of any DWI offense within five years, their license can be suspended for a period of one year to two years.
Additionally, an alleged intoxication assault offender could receive community service up to 1,000 hours, installation of an interlock device, required completion of an approved alcohol or drug education program, and/or court costs and fees.
If you wreck and kill someone while intoxicated, you could face intoxication manslaughter charges. If convicted of intoxication manslaughter, you face steep penalties. In addition to prison time and fines, you will lose your driving privileges for a significant length of time. You’ll walk away from a convicted felon with a permanent criminal record. You’ll lose the right to vote or hold public office, and you’ll be ineligible to apply for certain jobs or professions. If you want to pursue higher education, getting into college or graduate school will be much more difficult.
Intoxication manslaughter is defined by Texas Penal Code Section 49.08. A person commits intoxication manslaughter when they cause the death of another person while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
This offense is charged as a felony of the second degree. If a drunk driver kills a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical personnel, they could be charged with a first-degree felony.
A conviction for intoxication manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. The prison time increases drastically if the victim was a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical personnel. In this case, a conviction could result in imprisonment for 5 to 99 years and a maximum fine of $10,000. Alternatively, the judge may deliver a life sentence.
An individual who is convicted of first intoxication manslaughter could have their driver’s license suspended from 180 days to 2 years. If the offender receives a second or subsequent intoxication manslaughter within ten years of the previous offense, their license could be suspended for 1 to 2 years.
Additionally, an alleged intoxication manslaughter offender could have an interlock device installed in their vehicle. They could also be required to complete up to 1,000 hours of community service, pay court costs and fees, and complete an approved alcohol or drug education program.
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you were arrested for DWI in the greater Dallas area, it will be important for you to take quick and decisive action. Make sure that you secure qualified legal representation as soon as possible.
The Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy have represented thousands of alleged offenders in DWI cases all over the Dallas area. Call (972) 233-5700 or contact us online to set up a free consultation.
