Man with 7th DWI offense sentenced to 17 years for killing 2 people in crash
Repeat DWI offender sentenced to prison
A Travis County Judge has sentenced a man to 17 years in prison for killing two people while drinking and driving.
AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County Judge has sentenced a man to 17 years in prison for killing two people while drinking and driving.
This was Roberto Rangel’s seventh time being caught drunk driving.
"Mr. Rangel, if you'll please rise for my decision," Travis County 427th Criminal District Court Judge Tamara Needles said.
The backstory:
This was a decision the Narvaez and Zamora families had been waiting for, for years.
"Kate and Mark were fantastic, beautiful children that, you know, really were just living their life as a young age," Mark Narvaez’s father, Hector Narvaez said.
Man awaiting sentence after 7th DWI offense
A judge will soon decide how long a man will spend behind bars for drinking while driving. In December 2022, Roberto Rangel was involved in a crash that killed two people.
In December 2022, Kate and Mark were killed in a crash on East Ben White Boulevard.
Rangel was driving the truck, Narvaez and Garcia were on the motorcycle.
After refusing to even attempt the field sobriety test in those early morning hours, Rangel was arrested for intoxication manslaughter. He eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree felony DWI, third or more.
Dig deeper:
This is Rangel’s seventh time he’s been caught drinking and driving. That was something the judge said she considered in her decision for sentencing.
"Seventh DWI, there is nothing that I can do to get past that. Had this been your first DWI sir, we would be talking about something very different here today," Judge Needles said.
Man charged with 7 DWIs out on bond
Two families are frustrated with the justice system in Travis County. The man they said was drinking, driving, and who killed their children is out on bond. The same man, Roberto Rangel, has been charged with six DWI’s in the past.
In front of a packed courtroom, the decision finally came.
"I am sentencing you to 17 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division with the deadly weapon finding," Judge Needles said.
Rangel will have to spend at least seven and a half years behind bars before he’s eligible for parole.
Rangel can't appeal the judge's decision.
Victims' families spoke to Rangel
What they're saying:
Hector Narvaez spoke directly to Rangel.
"While you serve in jail, I hope that you will be afraid of the day you die, because God, the ultimate judge, will surely condemn you to an eternity in hell," Narvaez said.
"As a mom, there's no sentence long enough for him," Kate Garcia’s mother, Elida Zamora, said.
"Our family is satisfied with the outcome," Narvaez said.
They said they hope they can now start to heal.
"Learning to live without her, her presence, and closing this chapter that was long due," Zamora said.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis