2 bars cleared in crash that killed Lyft passenger in Clear Lake

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Alleged drunk driver charged in deadly Lyft crash in Clear Lake

The victim was texting with his wife just moments before he was killed. He was less than 5 miles from home.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Investigators have cleared two Houston area bars after a deadly drunk driving crash in Clear Lake.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday that it does not believe Erik Deleon, 21, had drinks at Bombshells or Studio 80 before causing a crash that killed a Lyft passenger and left its driver in a coma.

Deleon had a blood-alcohol concentration of .210 at the time of the crash, nearly three times the legal limit, court documents show.

ORIGINAL STORY: Lyft passenger on the way home from airport killed in drunk driving crash in Clear Lake

He is facing an intoxication manslaughter charge for the death of Dr. Billy Satterfield and intoxication assault charges for injuring driver Ezatullah Safi.

Satterfield, who was employed at the University of Houston-Clear Lake from 2007 until last year, was less than five miles from home when he was killed, according to investigators.

Sources say Deleon told officers on scene he was pounding tequila shots at a bar just before the crash. Bar receipts were found in his truck.

All along, the company that owns both bars was in cooperation with the investigation, said Sean Teare with the district attorney's office.

Bombshells and Studio 80 released this statement to the media Wednesday:

"We extend our deepest condolences to the victims of this tragic incident. We also would like the community to know the Harris County District Attorney's office has informed us that based on their investigation our establishments were not involved in serving alcohol to the driver alleged to have caused the accident. In addition, they have told us two other establishments, having no relation to us, are now the subject of investigation.

We were in contact with the DA's office since the incident and worked daily with investigators to cooperate with and assist in their work. This is part of our program to implement state-of-the-art policies and procedures to ensure the effectiveness of our alcohol service program, which includes extensive training, promotion of a safe ride program, the utilization of an expanded off duty law enforcement presence, ID scanning to verify patrons are over 21 and are presenting valid ID, and security video.

Our initial internal investigation found Erik Deleon did not have his ID scanned at Bombshells the night of the accident or on any previous night. We found no credit card used with the name at either Bombshells or Studio 80. After a thorough review of our security videos, we determined Mr. Deleon was not a customer at either establishment. An investigator from the District Attorney's task force independently reviewed our security videos and reached the same conclusion.

Additionally, on March 6th, the task force sent an investigator to speak with Mr. Deleon in the hospital. The DA's Office told us Mr. Deleon gave the investigator details of his whereabouts the night of the accident and confirmed he was not at Bombshells or Studio 80."