'Highly intoxicated' driver accused of killing man on scooter, police say
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The driver accused of killing an innocent man on a motorized scooter in southwest Houston is being held on a $100,000 bond.
The driver, identified as Carlos Lopez-Obispo, 57, was allegedly "highly intoxicated" at the time of the crash, and is now being charged with intoxication manslaughter.
Police say 39-year-old Therron Holbert was riding his scooter was on the sidewalk when a driver in a Ford F-150 truck left the road, hitting several concrete pillars and a METRO bus stop, before slamming into the man.
Holbert was transported to the hospital where he died.
The truck finally stopped when it hit the corner of a gas station sign.
When officers spoke with the defendant, they said his speech was so slurred that the officer was "unable to understand if he was speaking English or Spanish."
Investigators said Lopez-Obispo admitted to drinking three beers prior to getting behind the wheel.
He was also taken to the hospital after the crash, and an affidavit revealed the hospital would not release him until he was sober enough to walk.
If he is able to make bond, he will have to have an interlock installed in his car, wear a GPS ankle monitor and he will also be forbidden to drink or do drugs.
Over the past week, we've seen multiple deadly DWI crashes, including one that claimed the lives of a grandmother, mother and 3-month-old baby boy on Wednesday.
On Monday, a man accused of driving while intoxicated for the fourth time was charged with murder after a crash that killed another driver in northwest Harris County.
The victim on the motorized scooter is now the fifth person to die in a similar crash.
"We're almost 24 hours removed from one of the most horrific I've been to... three people dying yesterday. This one is just as tragic. You know, it's somebody who was doing absolutely nothing wrong. Wasn't even on the road... was in a crosswalk on the sidewalk.... and this individual left the roadway, struck and drug him," said Sean Teare with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
