San Marcos man faces manslaughter charges following fatal crash in Del Valle

The man told a trooper he was driving to the airport for a 10:05 a.m. flight out of Austin and was running late and in a hurry.

DEL VALLE, Texas - A San Marcos man is facing manslaughter charges following a fatal crash in Del Valle this past weekend.

The crash took place sometime after 9 a.m. Sunday. According to DPS, an Acura driven by Jose Velazquez attempted to cross over the westbound lane of SH 71. Joanne Menchaca was in the passenger seat.

The vehicle was struck by an Audi, driven by 21-year-old Joseph Diaz. Menchaca and Velazquez were pronounced dead at the scene.

Diaz told a trooper he was driving to the airport for a 10:05 a.m. flight out of Austin. He said he was running late and in a hurry.

Minutes prior to the crash, the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office received a call that Diaz was speeding and driving erratically. Based on when that call was placed, the Texas Department of Public Safety believes Diaz would have been traveling anywhere between 100 to 120 miles an hour to make it to the Del Valle crash.

“I just feel really bad for the innocent people that were killed, just because someone in a hurry and driving way too fast. It’s really a shame,” said Toni Hoss, who drives to the crash site twice a week to feed a colony of feral cats.

Hoss believes there is a speeding problem on the stretch of road.

“Most people just act like there’s not a speed limit, they’re just going so fast,” she said.

Diaz was treated for minor injuries at Dell Seton where he told staff he was driving 100 mph. He later told a trooper he was driving 70 or 80 mph. He also told a trooper he currently lives in Colorado. According to DPS, his license has a San Marcos address on it. He is facing two felony manslaughter charges. He is being held at the Travis County Jail on $50,000 bond.

A GoFundMe has been set up by the family of Jose Velazquez. They say he had no insurance to cover funeral expenses.