SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: David Gonzalez, 18, whom Leon Valley police say led officers on a chase before colliding with four vehicles, killing one person, has been indicted for murder by a grand jury.
The jury indicted Gonzalez on Thursday. His arraignment is set for Friday.
(Previously)
Leon Valley police Saturday identified a driver who led officers on a chase before colliding with four vehicles, killing one person.
Authorities said David Gonzalez, 18, was behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle when authorities initiated a traffic stop in the 6800 block of Bandera Road. Gonzalez, police said, first crashed into a silver Toyota sedan, killing the driver, 34-year-old Gabriele Davila, and seriously injuring his female passenger. Police said Gonzalez continued on, striking several other vehicles in the 8100 block of Grissom Road.
Gonzalez, Davila's passenger and 2 other people involved in the incident were taken to University Hospital. Davila's passenger remains in critical condition, Leon Valley police said in a news release. The two others injured are expected to be OK.
Leon Valley police chief Joseph Salvaggio said Leon Valley police were notified Friday morning by OnStar, an in-vehicle safety and security system, that a car was stolen from a home in Leon Valley.
When police tried to stop Gonzalez, chaos ensued.
"(Gonzalez) rear-ended a vehicle that was waiting to turn left onto Old Grissom Road," which caused a chain-reaction collision, Salvaggio said.
"The suspect in the stolen car veered off and hit another vehicle head-on," Salvaggio said.
Salvaggio said Saturday that after Gonzalez was booked, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office upgraded the charge of evading arrest causing death to a murder charge. Gonzalez is also charged with evading arrest causing serious bodily injury and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He is behind bars on bail totaling $120,000.
"If convicted, this kid's life is done. These types of charges carry up to life in prison. This is senseless ... to steal a vehicle is dumb enough, but to evade and do this to where it causes all this havoc and to kill somebody is just ridiculous," Salvaggio said.