Special to the NEWS
EDINBURG, TX—A 33-year-old San Benito woman was sentenced to 11 years in prison after admitting guilt to multiple charges related to a fatal 2022 drunk driving crash that left two others injured.
Last Wednesday, in a Hidalgo County courtroom, Claudia Ann Carrizales from San Benito pleaded guilty to one count of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle.
Carrizales was sentenced to 11 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter and 10 years for each of the intoxication assault charges. All three sentences will run concurrently, according to court records.
The fatal crash occurred on January 6, 2022, on the 1300 block of East Nolana Avenue.
Cynthia Lee Lopez, 46, died at the scene.
The indictment against Carrizales stated that two other people were injured after Carrizales collided with the vehicle.
According to the indictment, Carrizales was operating a vehicle “while intoxicated by reason of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, or a combination of two or more substances in the body.”
Reports indicate that the McAllen Police Department conducted the investigation after a two-vehicle crash shut down part of one of the city’s busiest streets.
McAllen police officers arrived at the 1300 block of East Nolana Ave. for the crash. People from both vehicles were taken to local hospitals, according to department spokeswoman Officer Olivia Lopez.
The section of McColl Road from Jackson Road to Nolana Avenue was shut down because of the accident.
One woman died, and three others were hospitalized after a crash in McAllen, which occurred on a busy Thursday night.
At around 7 p.m., police responded to the crash, records show. Four people were taken to area hospitals after the incident.
Carrizales was detained while awaiting medical clearance.