Man gets 3rd DWI charge in crash where woman died getting out of moving truck in southeast Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 34-year-old man has been charged in a crash where police said a woman got out of a pickup truck while it was still moving in southeast Houston. Officials said this is not the first time the man has driven drunk.
Israel Arevalo Cocotl was charged with felony driving while intoxicated after the deadly crash. Houston police said this is the third time the man has been charged with DWI.
The video above is from a previous report.
The crash happened in the 7300 block of Galveston Road, also known as Highway 3, and Edgebrook Drive around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Police said Cocotl, the driver of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck, got into an argument with a 25-year-old woman riding in the passenger seat.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman dies after getting out of moving truck in southeast Houston, police say
At some point during the argument, police said the woman unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the vehicle while it was still moving, landing on the ground.
That's when the woman was struck by the pickup truck, HPD said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities said the driver told them that he and the woman had both been drinking and were highly intoxicated.
Officers questioned Cocotl, determined he was intoxicated, and took him into custody. He was later charged after police consulted with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
A judge set Cocotl's bond at $80,000. He was scheduled to appear in court again on Monday.
Police told ABC13 last week that although the man was arrested for DWI, he is not considered at-fault for the deadly crash.
Authorities have not released the identity of the woman killed.
This case is one of three in the past week where a woman died after jumping or falling out of a moving vehicle.
READ MORE: Woman dies after jumping from moving car during argument with boyfriend in Cypress, detectives say
The first incident happened on Barker Cypress and West Road on Feb. 7.
Harris County sheriff's deputies said a 19-year-old jumped out of a moving vehicle while her boyfriend was driving.
Family members identified the woman as Cassandra Carabello. They said her boyfriend has not been charged.
Investigators said the two pulled into a parking lot after a fight, before Carabello jumped out of the moving vehicle.
She was flown to the hospital, where she later died.
According to her mother, Cynthia Martinez, Caraballo had just moved in with her boyfriend the day before. Her mother said she had been trying to get her daughter to leave him because he had a criminal record.
The boyfriend was detained and brought in for questioning, according to investigators.
They are waiting for an autopsy, but officials said it will be difficult to understand what happened those moments before.
SEE ALSO: Woman dies after falling out of car during argument on I-45 near Cavalcade, police say
Another woman fell out of a car and died during an argument with a man on the North Freeway near Cavalcade on Sunday night, according to police.
HPD said the driver and the woman had been drinking at a club downtown and were arguing in the car.
The driver told police the woman demanded to be let out of the car before opening the window and trying to crawl out.
The man claims he tried to grab the woman and pull her back into the car, but he couldn't get a good grip.
The driver will be charged with driving while intoxicated while police work to verify his story, HPD said.
