Crashes kill 7 over weekend
Two men have been charged with intoxication manslaughter in unrelated crashes following a deadly weekend in which seven people were killed in San Antonio traffic accidents.
Police were unsure if any deaths involved people who had attended Fiesta events.
“Unfortunately, we go through peaks and valleys with fatality accidents,” Sgt. Gabe Trevino, a San Antonio Police Department spokesman, said Monday. “We recognize during Fiesta that there may be more drivers indulging in alcohol, so we have stepped up our efforts.”
Drivers who refuse to take alcohol breath tests will have blood drawn during Fiesta week, authorities warned.
Last year, San Antonio police recorded seven traffic fatalities — five involving alcohol — for the Fiesta period of April 18-27.
Last weekend's deaths bring to 48 the number of traffic fatalities in San Antonio this year, police said. About 20 drivers were arrested Saturday for driving under the influence.
Police said Nathan Dameron and Andreas Uribe had been drinking at a downtown hotel before Dameron drove them home and crashed into a metal pole, killing Uribe, near U.S. 281 and Jones Maltsberger Road about 3:41 a.m. Sunday.
Uribe, 21, died at University Hospital, while Dameron was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter. Dameron, 21, remained jailed Monday on $20,000 bond.
In another alcohol-related crash, 38-year-old Jerry Berlanga was hanging out of a pickup's passenger window when the driver crashed into an Interstate 35 guardrail near downtown, ejecting Berlanga from the truck and killing him, police said. The driver, Richard Hayes, 42, was charged with intoxication manslaughter. He remained jailed Monday on $20,000 bond.
Rosalino Isidro, 28, was killed about 11:45 p.m. Sunday after he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a utility pole on Nogalitos near New Highway 90. Police are investigating whether alcohol played a role.
The weekend's first deadly crash happened about 11 p.m. Friday. Jesse Garcia, 46, was killed on Interstate 10 near De Zavala Road after he overcorrected his pickup and crashed into a utility pole, police said.
About 2 a.m. Saturday, a man in his 20s was killed in a rollover accident at U.S. 181 and Palm Park Boulevard in Bexar County. His identity has not been released.
About the same time, a 43-year-old man died after slamming the sports utility vehicle he was driving into a freeway sign at Loop 1604 and La Cantera Parkway. His name has not been released.
Motorcyclist Deon Terry, 38, died from injuries after crashing near the 1200 block of Northeast Loop 410 about 9 p.m. Saturday.
