Teen charged with intoxication manslaughter for fatal head-on crash in New Braunfels
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - A 16-year-old from Mexico has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after a head-on crash killed a man and injured four other people in New Braunfels.
The New Braunfels Police Department says officers and firefighters with the New Braunfels Fire Department responded to SH 46 West and T-Bar-M Drive for a major crash with multiple injuries around 2:40 p.m. July 9.
Crews arrived to find a red Ford Explorer and a blue Honda Pilot had crashed head on, with seven injured people.
The Explorer's front passenger, 51-year-old Jose Medrano Perez of Plantersville, was transported to Christus New Braunfels Hospital with critical injuries, but was later pronounced dead.
Two adults and two children from Magnolia were in the Honda Pilot. A 40-year-old woman and 12-year-old girl were taken to a San Antonio hospital in critical but stable condition; a nine-year-old boy was also taken but had non-life-threatening injuries. The adult man in the vehicle did not require EMS.
A 41-year-old New Braunfels man was in the backseat of the Ford Explorer and suffered non-life-threatening injuries as well and was taken to an area hospital.
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The Ford Explorer's driver, a 16-year-old boy from Tamaulipas, Mexico, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash and was taken to the hospital. According to police, he exhibited signs of intoxication which prompted a DWI investigation.
The teenager was detained after a blood search warrant was issued and he has since been transported to the Guadalupe County Juvenile Detention Facility.
The area was partially closed for several hours following the crash in order to conduct an accident reconstruction investigation and to clear the scene of debris, says NBPD.
The investigation revealed that the Pilot was legally in the center turn lane waiting for an opportunity to turn left onto T-Bar-M Drive when the Explorer crossed over into the turn lane and struck the Pilot head on.
This incident remains under investigation by the NBPD Traffic Unit and additional charges may be pending.