Houston man charged in deadly 6-vehicle crash appears in court

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The man charged in the deadly 6-vehicle crash appeared in court Tuesday morning.

Tarus Lawson, 42, is charged with manslaughter for the crash at South Post Oak and Gasmer on April 2 that killed Juan Ortiz.

According to court records, accident reconstruction showed he was travelling 67 mph when he crashed into Ortiz's truck, and he did not brake.

An off-duty Fort Bend County deputy said Lawson's speech was slurred and he had a hard time standing.

She also possibly smelled PCP on him but he was not arrested at the scene.

Lawson has three prior DWI convictions.

He was arrested at IAH almost two weeks after the crash.

Ortiz was laid to rest on Tuesday. His wife was unable to attend the funeral because of her injuries from the crash.