A late night crash in North Harris County has ended with one man dead and his wife facing a serious criminal charge. The woman now faces intoxication manslaughter charges after deputies say she was driving drunk when she crashed. What might have been treated as a single vehicle accident has instead become a criminal case, because of the role investigators say alcohol played behind the wheel.
According to deputies, the crash was not simply a matter of bad luck or poor road conditions. Investigators say the woman was driving while intoxicated when she lost control of the vehicle. That conclusion is what moved the case from a tragic accident into the territory of an intoxication manslaughter charge.
Speed appears to have compounded the danger. Investigators say the woman admitted that she was going about 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Travelling at nearly double the posted limit left little room for error on a stretch of road that was not built for that kind of speed.
The loss of control played out on a specific stretch of roadway. Deputies say that as she sped along, the woman lost control of the vehicle and crossed into a grassy median on Century Plaza Drive. The car left its lane and ended up off the roadway, in the median area dividing the route.
The consequences for her passenger were fatal. Her 30-year-old husband, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. He died at the scene, unable to survive being thrown from the car as it went out of control.
The driver herself was injured but survived. After the crash, the woman was taken to a hospital for treatment. Once her condition allowed, she was later taken into custody by authorities in connection with the deadly wreck.
The case now stands as a stark example of how alcohol, speed and an unbuckled seatbelt can combine with deadly results. With the woman charged with intoxication manslaughter, the death of her husband moves into the hands of the justice system, where the circumstances of that night will be examined in detail as the case proceeds.