Missouri man indicted in wrong-way crash that killed Baird teen
Aspen Blessing, 18, of Baird was struck and killed in a wrong-way collision on Interstate Highway-20 on March 10.
Brendon Lucero, 28, of Monett, Missouri, was traveling east in the westbound lanes of I-20 when he struck Baird's vehicle going westbound on I-20, according to allegations in the original Texas Department of Public Safety press release.
Charges of intoxicated manslaughter and manslaughter have been filed against Lucero as his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit, according to allegations.
He was free Wednesday from Callahan County Jail on $250,000 in attorney bonds, according to online jail records.
His first name is also listed as Brenden in some court documents.
Officials: BAC over the limit
The crash occurred shortly after 4 a.m. March 10 just four miles east of Abilene, according to the DPS.
Lucero had been driving east in the westbound lanes of I-20, and several vehicles had just evaded the pickup truck and called 911 to report the driver, according to allegations in court documents.
Lucero then allegedly drove his Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck straight into Blessing's Ford Edge SUV.
Blessing had been “traveling in the correct direction on I-20 in the westbound lanes” at that time, according to court documents.
DPS Trooper Cody Pope was dispatched to the scene that night.
His subsequent investigation “revealed that Lucero had recently been at a night club in Abilene that night,” according to allegations in court documents. Lucero later admitted to a trooper that he had been drinking alcohol that night, although “he claimed not to remember the accident.”
According to Sgt. Marc Couch of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Lucero was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and experienced a serious incapacitating injury. At that time, he was transported to Hendrick Medical Center.
Lucero then "gave consent and provided a blood sample during the course of the investigation as soon as practical after the crash,” Couch said.
Medical records indicated that “at about an hour after the crash, Lucero had a .239 BAC,” according to court documents.
Driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.079% is illegal in Texas.
Lucero survived the crash.
This marked the fourth highway fatality of the year for the Big Country, joining slick Sunday's two fatalities in one day.
Indictment in connection with crash
A Callahan County grand jury handed down a two-count indictment against Lucero on April 17, according to court documents filed in the Callahan County District Clerk's Office. Count one was intoxicated manslaughter, and count two was manslaughter. According to the indictment, Lucero allegedly and recklessly caused the death of Blessing by “driving on the wrong side of a divided roadway” and by using a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the Callahan County Sheriff's Office, Lucero was arrested April 19 and released the same day.
He has since entered a plea of not guilty and requested a trial.
According to Taylor County Assistant District Attorney Erin Stamey, a conviction of intoxicated manslaughter is a second-degree felony that carries a possible sentence of two-20 years in prison.
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Missouri man indicted in wrong-way crash that killed Baird teen
