SAN ANTONIO – The first officer on the scene of a fatal traffic crash on the evening of Feb. 24, 2018, said that Ricky Cantu had alcohol on his breath and was unsteady on his feet when the officer spoke with him following the crash.
Rudy Borrego, 51, was killed when his motorcycle skidded broadside into a pickup driven by Cantu in the 100 block of South Laredo Street.
Investigators said that Cantu, 57, made a left turn into Borrego's path.
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Officer Thomas Villarreal, of the San Antonio Police Department, was the first officer on the scene that evening.
Villarreal testified Wednesday during Cantu's trial on felony murder charges.
"As I was having a conversation with him trying to gather information, I could smell intoxicants coming from his breath," Villarreal testified.
The police officer said other signs suggested that Cantu had been drinking.
"As I was asking him for information, I could tell he had a slurred speech, and he was unsteady on his feet," Villarreal said.
Villarreal said he also saw beer cans in Cantu's truck as it was being towed from the scene.
This was Cantu's third drunken driving arrest. Since the crash was a fatality, the charges against him were upgraded to felony murder.
A conviction could mean a sentence of life in prison.
Testimony will continue Thursday in Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl's 175th District Court.