EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A probable cause affidavit provided details of a suspected drunk-driving crash in Edinburg that left a woman dead.
Juan Pablo Torres, 27, was arrested Sept. 10 on charges of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in connection to a crash that left 26-year-old Adrienne Ann Garza dead.
A probable cause affidavit stated that at 2:37 a.m. Sept. 9, an officer was dispatched to a major accident on the 100 block of E. Trenton Road. There he saw a white Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck upside down on the corner of the road. The officer “carefully pulled out the driver,” who was identified as Torres, from the driver side window.
The officer did not see any injuries to Torres but noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and inside the truck. He also saw a beer can inside the truck, the document alleges.
According to the affidavit, the officer was not able to conduct a field sobriety test of Torres due to him being “incoherent and uncooperative when questioned.” Torres told police he did not remember where he was going or coming from and kept fainting at the scene. He was then transported to a local hospital for treatment.
A witness told the officer that the white truck ran a red light before striking a white BMW on its driver’s side. The officer approached the BMW which was being tended to by another officer. There he saw a man in the passenger seat with serious bodily injuries.
Officers tried to make contact with the driver, identified as Garza, but she was pinned inside and unresponsive. The Edinburg Fire Department assisted in extracting Garza from the vehicle, where she was then transported to an Edinburg hospital. Once there, she died from her injuries.
A witness told police that he was leaving the Bert Ogden dealership when he heard a loud impact and saw there was an accident. The witness assisted in pulling Torres from the truck, stating that, “he f—– up by going very fast, ran a red light and he had just left a bar,” the affidavit stated.
Police spoke with the passenger of the BMW, who said he could not remember what happened other than they were going home and got hit.
The next day, investigators spoke with Torres who confessed to drinking at Hillbilly’s in McAllen with a friend, the affidavit stated.
“Torres then recalled driving his white Chevrolet pick-up on Trenton Road passing a car wash that was directly across a dealership of KIA/Mazda but then feeling a ‘thump,'” the document states.
On the morning of the crash, the white Chevrolet truck had been rolled over by a wrecker, and a black Ruger 5.7 .22 caliber handgun was recovered. During the interview, investigators asked if he carried anything inside his truck, to which he said he carried a pistol and a machete. Torres was then additionally charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon.
Torres was booked into the Hidalgo County Jail, where his bond was set at $1.5 million.
Court records show that on March 21, 2019, Torres was arrested on a charge of DWI BAC>=0.15. A year later, he was sentenced to 180 days in county jail with nine months of probation, including taking alcohol classes, a driver’s license suspension of 90 days, an interlock device for 4.5 months and random drug and alcohol evaluations.
