SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: A jury has found 24-year-old Rosalinda Olalde guilty of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in connection with a fatal DWI crash that happened in August 2018.
The jury deliberated for about seven hours before returning with a verdict.
Olalde faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. The punishment phase in the trial begins Thursday.
(Previously)
The lawyer representing a woman charged in a fatal DWI crash suggested during closing arguments Wednesday that a man driving the other car caused the crash that claimed his life.
The victim, Mario Velasquez-Plau, 22, was trying to enter the Loop 1604 access road as he crossed a sidewalk that ran parallel to the access road while leaving a parking lot on the night of August 10, 2018.
An SUV driven by the defendant, Rosalinda Olalde, 24, veered from the access road and onto the sidewalk and crashed into Valesquez-Plau’s sedan, according to a prosecution expert.
Defense expert challenges state expert’s findings in intoxication manslaughter case
Valesquez-Plau was killed and four passengers in his car were seriously injured.
“If he stayed behind the line, the collision would not have happened,” defense attorney Demetrio Duarte told the jury.
Prosecutor Kristina Escalona was quick to counter Duarte's claim.
“She was alone on that access road, she was speeding and nothing else caused her to get on that sidewalk but her loss of control,” Escalona said.
Escalona blamed high speed, estimated at 80 mph by expert witnesses, and Olalde’s blood-alcohol content for her loss of control.
Jury gets firsthand look at vehicles involved in fatal traffic crash
According to testimony, Olalde’s blood-alcohol level was .18, twice over the legal limit in Texas.
Jurors have been deliberating the case since just before noon Wednesday.
Olalde is charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.
If Olalde is found guilty, she could face a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.