SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Fourth Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a 25-year-old man’s conviction for a high-speed crash in 2015 that killed one Boerne teen and seriously injured another.
Aidan Vitela was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and assault causing serious bodily injury in 2019, roughly four years after the crash occurred on Scenic Loop Road. The wreck was described by experts as one of the “worst they had ever seen.” Sydney Smith, who had just turned 18, died in the crash. Victoria Snell, who was 16 at the time, suffered permanent nerve damage and several fractures.
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Vitela’s attorneys argued that the conviction should be thrown out for multiple reasons. First, they argued, investigators did not have probable cause to seize the “black box” of his car, which tracked Vitela’s speed leading up to the crash. The black box data showed that Vitela’s car reached speeds of 115 mph roughly five seconds before a curve in the road. In the final seconds before the crash, investigators determined Vitela was going no less than 61 mph around the curve when he crashed into a tree, far exceeding the 15 mph speed limit approaching the curve.
His attorneys also argued that the state’s expert witnesses were not qualified to testify to the data extracted from the black box and that the prosecutor erred during closing arguments, potentially affecting the jury’s decision.
The appeals court rejected each argument, the records showed. Judges concluded that the evidence against Vitela was “legally sufficient” to prove the conviction.
Snell, along with Smith’s family, applauded the decision, according to a news release.
“The Smith family and Victoria Snell hope that Vitela will finally serve time for the homicide of Sydney Smith and the aggravated assault of Victoria Snell and that Texas’ law for criminally negligent homicide changes to encapsulate a harsher punishment,” according to the news release. “They also hope that Vitela one day apologizes and becomes a positive, contributing member of society.”