Repeat DWI offender gets probation for crash that injured family
HIGHLANDS, Texas (KTRK) -- A family of four that was injured in a drunk driving crash said they were horrified to learn of the drunk driver's fate.
Records show Judge Hilary Unger sentenced Cruz Guerra Nolasco to 10 years' probation for his third DWI offense on Aug. 4.
As part of his probation, he was also required to spend 10 days in the Harris County Jail.
Prosecutors tell Eyewitness News they had requested a six-year prison sentence.
Courtney Barron was driving her boyfriend and two daughters to visit relatives the morning of the crash last November.
As she was passing through the intersection at Main Street and Wallisville in Highlands, investigators say Guerra Nolasco ran a red light and slammed into them.
He's quoted as telling deputies that he "had way too much to drink."
Barron says she suffered hip fractures while her boyfriend suffered spinal fractures.
Her 12-year-old daughter, Kitrie, said she had internal bleeding.
"I was trapped. I was yelling for my mom," she said.
Guerra Nolasco was previously convicted of DWI in 2016 and 2019 but was never sentenced to more than a month in jail.
"I definitely thought that this was gonna be it, like, you've done - you done it three times," said Courtney Barron. "This is your third time. This is it. You're gonna be locked up for quite a while."
"I think they're just saying, 'Oh, it's okay to drink and drive,'" said Kitrie Barron.
Guerra Nolasco was ordered to check into a residential treatment facility and complete a DWI intervention program.
His driver's license was also suspended for two years, and he's not allowed to consume alcohol.
But court records show he began drinking while out on bond for his last two DWIs, in violation of his bond conditions in both cases.
"I think he's going to try to continue his alcohol treatment, but then he's going to lapse at some point and boom," said Barron's boyfriend Julian Smythe. "He's just gonna get in the car and drive."
Eyewitness News reached out to Unger's office and Guerra Nolasco's attorney for comment but didn't hear back.
