Truck driver charged with intoxication manslaughter in N Austin I-35 crash was sober
Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, the big rig driver who last month was charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in connection to a fatal multi-car collision on Interstate 35 in North Austin, tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
That's according to his court-appointed attorney, Bristol Myers, who on Friday received the result of a blood draw from a private lab contracted by the Austin Police Department.
Myers said he is moving to get his client out of jail quickly and wants the Police Department held responsible for their investigation.
"It is botched," he said. "It is just absolutely botched."
The Police Department did not immediately have a comment Friday afternoon but an APD official confirmed the result of the blood test to the American-Statesman.
Weldekeal-Araya remains in jail on a combined $1.2 million bond.
Two different arrest affidavits claimed that Weldekeal Araya had exhibited signs of intoxication during field sobriety testing and was likely under the influence of central nervous system depressants. He blew a 0.00 on a preliminary breath test and told officers he had not consumed any drugs or alcohol.
"(The detective) believes the driver is under the influence CNS depressants and is not capable of operating a vehicle safely," according to one of the affidavits.
One of the affidavits said that a review of Weldekeal-Araya's driver log showed he had a history of "hours of service" violations, which is when a commercial driver works longer hours than is allowed by law, including "several" in the week leading up to the crash. He also had "prior hazardous moving violations" while operating commercial vehicles, the second warrant stated.
Myers told the Statesman on Friday he believes it is possible that his client could face other charges, but he said he believes the crash may have been the result of an accident.
The crash occurred shortly after 11:30 p.m. on March 13 on southbound I-35 near Parmer Lane. It killed five people, including a family of four and an elderly woman, and injured at least a dozen others.
Weldekeal Araya, 37, was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault in connection to the crash. While he was driving a load for Amazon, he was employed by a small, Dallas-based trucking company called ZBN Transport.
At least two people injured in the crash have sued Weldekeal Araya, ZBN Transport and Amazon.
The blood draw results come as Weldekeal-Araya has been demonized by conservative commentators and critics.
Traffic along Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane had slowed to a crawl late Thursday so cars could merge into one lane when a big rig barreled into them, causing a chain reaction that killed five people, federal investigators said Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trucker charged with intoxication manslaughter in I-35 crash was sober
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: Federal appeals court to hear arguments in Trump's bid to erase hush money conviction
Federal appellate judges will hear President Donald Trump's quest to erase his criminal conviction on Wednesday — one of the ways he's trying to get last year's hush money verdict overturned. A three-judge panel is set to consider Trump's efforts to get the New York case moved from state court to federal court, where he could then try to have the verdict thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. Billionaire Elon Musk stepped back from his explosive feud with Trump, writing on X that he regrets that some of his posts went 'too far.' An appeals court is allowing Trump tariffs to continue pending court challenges, extending a similar ruling made after another federal court ruled that he overstepped his presidential authority. And the Justice Department says Trump he has the authority to abolish national monuments meant to protect historical and archaeological sites across broad landscapes, including two in California created by his predecessor at the request of Native American tribes. Here's the latest: Chinese rare earth minerals produced through forced labor, rights group says The Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be among companies linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labor practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report found 77 Chinese suppliers in the titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium industries operating in Xinjiang are at risk of participating in China's 'labor transfer programs,' in which Uyghur are forced to work in factories as part of a long-standing campaign of assimilation and mass detention. The named companies didn't immediately comment. A U.N. report from 2022 found China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million Uyghurs are estimated to have been arbitrarily detained as China targets terrorism and separatism. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the forced labor allegations are 'nothing but a lie.' President Joe Biden signed a law blocking imports from Xinjiang unless businesses can prove they were made without forced labor. Trump announces that US-China trade deal is 'done' Trump says US will get magnets and rare earth minerals from China in a deal imposing 55% tariffs on Chinese goods — up sharply from the 30% set in Switzerland during talks in May. In return, Trump said the U.S. will provide China 'what was agreed to,' including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities. Trump recently had begun to clamp down on Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses. Inflation up slightly, costing Americans more for food U.S. inflation picked up a bit last month as food costs rose, though overall inflation remained mostly tame. Consumer prices increased 2.4% last month compared to a year ago, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.8% for the third straight month. Economists pay close attention to core prices because they generally provide a better sense of where inflation is headed. The figures suggest inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, which would make it less likely that the Fed will cut its key short-term interest rate. Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs. Last week, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the inflation data, said it is reducing the amount of data it collects for each inflation report. Economists have expressed concern about the cutback, and while it isn't clear how sharp the reduction is, most analysts say it is likely to have a minor impact. Still, any reduction in data collection could make the figures more volatile. Trump hails appeals court ruling in favor of his tariffs as a 'great' win for the US Trump commented on the ruling on Wednesday on his social media site, saying, 'A Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that the United States can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries. A great and important win for the U.S.,' he wrote. Veterans are divided over the Army's big parade, being held on Trump's birthday Until recently, the Army's long-planned birthday celebration did not include a big parade. Trump's addition, featuring hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers, has divided veterans. Some liken it to the military chest-pounding commonly seen in North Korea, a step toward authoritarianism or a perverse birthday party for Trump. Others see it as a once-in-a-lifetime accounting of the Army's achievements and the military service of millions of soldiers over centuries. The parade is not about Trump, they say, but the public seeing the faces of soldiers when so few Americans serve. The Army expects up to 200,000 people could attend and says the parade will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million. Trump, speaking at Fort Bragg this week, said Saturday would be 'a big day' and noted 'we want to show off a little bit.' Appeals court lets Trump administration keep collecting tariffs while challenges continue The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends a similar ruling it made after another federal court struck down the tariffs May 28, saying Trump had overstepped his authority. The case involves 10% tariffs the president imposed on almost every country in April and bigger ones he imposed and then suspended on countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. It also involves tariffs Trump plastered on imports from China, Canada and Mexico to pressure them to do more to stop the illegal flow of immigrants and synthetic opioids across the U.S. border. In declaring the tariffs, Trump had invoked emergency powers under a 1977 law. But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled he had exceeded his power. The tariffs upended global trade, paralyzed businesses and spooked financial markets. Elon Musk backs off from feud with Trump, saying he regrets social media posts that 'went too far' Early Wednesday morning, he posted 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.' Musk's break with a president whom he spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect appeared to put an end to his influence in the White House and prompted concerns about effects on his companies. As a major government contractor, Musk's businesses could be particularly vulnerable to retribution, and Trump has already threatened to cut Musk's contracts. Musk earlier deleted a post in which he claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about the president's association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, other posts that irritated Trump, including ones in which Musk called the spending bill an 'abomination' and claimed credit for Trump's election victory, remained live. On Sunday, Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warned that Musk could face ' serious consequences ' if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections. A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in Trump's bid to erase his hush money conviction Trump's quest to erase his criminal conviction heads to a federal appeals court Wednesday. It's one way he's trying to get last year's hush money verdict overturned. A three-judge panel is set to hear arguments in Trump's long-running fight to get the New York case moved from state court to federal court, where he could then try to have the verdict thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. The Republican is asking the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene after a lower-court judge twice rejected the move. As part of the request, Trump wants the federal appeals court to seize control of the criminal case and then ultimately decide his appeal of the verdict, which is now pending in a state appellate court.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran executes man over 2022 anti-government protests
A man has been executed in Iran, three years after he was arrested during the nationwide anti-government protests in 2022, the judiciary says. Mojahed Kourkouri, also known as Abbas Kourkouri, was sentenced to death after being convicted of armed attacks and membership of a "rebellion group", according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency. He was accused of killing seven people, including nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, during protests in the city of Izeh. Kian's family said he was killed by security forces, but authorities maintained that a "rioter" shot him. Amnesty International said Kourkouri was subjected to torture and that his trial was "grossly unfair". Kourkouri is the 11th person known to have been executed in relation to the protests, which were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by morality police in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly". Hundreds of people were killed and thousands detained in a violent crackdown by security forces, which portrayed the protests as "riots". Kourkouri was accused of opening fire on a car carrying Kian Pirfalak and his family in Izeh, in the south-western province of Khuzestan, at the height of the unrest that November. State authorities blamed "terrorist agents" for Kian's killing, and later arrested Kourkouri during an armed raid the following month, during which Kourkouri was shot and injured in the knee, human rights groups said. Kian's family has repeatedly said it does not think Kourkouri was involved in the boy's killing. At Kian's funeral, the boy's mother was overheard in a video telling mourners: "Hear it from me myself on how the shooting happened, so they can't say it was by terrorists, because they're lying." "Plainclothes forces shot my child. That is it," Zeynab Molaei said. Later that the day, she appeared to recant the remarks in a state TV interview, warning that they should "not be misused". She looked visibly distressed, prompting many on social media to warn that she might have been coerced. The judiciary's announcement that Kourkouri had been executed sparked condemnation among human rights groups. Amnesty International said Kourkouri's trial was unfair because he had been denied access to an independently chosen lawyer and his confessions, which were broadcast on Iranian state media, had been forced. It added that following his arrest, Kourkouri was held in solitary confinement and repeatedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including severe beatings. Kourkouri was initially sentenced in April 2023, but a judicial review of his case was filed to the Supreme Court in January 2024, Amnesty said. His conviction was later upheld and his sentence was sent for implementation later that year, it added. The director of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's other leaders "must be held accountable for the extrajudicial killing" of Kourkouri, "as well as for the murders of Kian Pirfalak and thousands of other innocent people". "The international community must break its silence in the face of this tsunami of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic," he added. Kurdish human rights group Hengaw said at least 582 prisoners, including 19 political, religious, and security inmates, had been executed in Iranian prisons so far this year. The last person to be executed in connection with the 2022 protests was Reza Rasaei in August last year. The 34-year-old was sentenced to death in 2023 after what Amnesty called a "grossly unfair" trial that relied on forced confessions, which they said were "obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, suffocation and sexual violence". Iranian authorities accused him of having a part in the death of a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards during the protests - a charge Rasaei denied. He was executed in secret and his family was not given prior warning, Amnesty said. Iran executes protester with mental health condition 15 minutes to defend yourself against the death penalty Two boys shot dead by Iran security forces - sources
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Embattled Oakland County judge asked to recuse herself in prosecutor's cases
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office began to pull its cases from under the thumb of embattled District Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig on the morning of June 10 amid fallout from a formal complaint issued by the state's judicial oversight body earlier this month. During Hartig's June 10 docket at the 52-4 District Court in Troy, the prosecutor's office — which is named in some accusations in the complaint — motioned for Hartig to recuse herself from its first two cases of the day. Hartig declined to do so but was later overruled by her chief judge. So began a dance of repeating the motion on other cases tied to the prosecutor's office and Hartig adjourning them to give the chief judge time to rule, as defendants went back to jail cells or workdays. There was no immediate indication that morning that Chief Judge Travis Reeds would rule differently on the adjourned cases, though Hartig noted from the bench that he had not reviewed a transcript of the hearing with her reasoning for not recusing herself. Bill Mullan, public information officer for Oakland County, confirmed the chief judge's decisions, which attorneys had relayed to Hartig during her docket. Mullan said that the cases would be reassigned at random to other district court judges. More: Complaint: Oakland County Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig created 'climate of fear' Reeds previously said Hartig should be temporarily removed from her docket amid the oversight case, and the county reported he made a request to do so. Hartig has been under fire in recent years, both by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and a former court administrator who got a $100,000 settlement in a whistleblower and unlawful termination lawsuit tied to Hartig. Then on June 4, the oversight body, the Judicial Tenure Commission, issued a rare public complaint against the judge. The complaint effectively launches a court-like process that, at its most severe, could result in the Michigan Supreme Court suspending or removing the judge. Key in the complaint: The commission attempted to redact, but left visible in some formats, that a psychological evaluation of the judge in 2024 deemed her at the time to be ''unsafe to practice' due to disruptive behavior and personality dysfunction.' What was deemed at risk was not immediately clear. The commission openly accused Hartig of misdeeds, including creating 'a climate of fear' among workers at the courthouse, improperly dismissing multiple cases without prejudice due to a grudge with the prosecutors tied to scheduling, and mistreating that former court administrator. More: Authority got psych report saying Oakland Judge Hartig was 'unsafe to practice' months ago A spokesperson for the judge, Daniel Cherrin of Royal Oak-based public affairs and communications firm North Coast Strategies, declined to comment on the mental health aspect but issued a statement at the time calling the commission process 'flawed." He said Hartig has patiently waited for the chance to address the allegations against her. In court on June 10, Hartig spoke out against the recusal motions to start. Her docket was underway shortly after 9 a.m., with the judge making mostly default judgments in landlord-tenant issues until a case involving the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office came up. Assistant Prosecutor Bob Zivian came to the podium and when given the chance said for the first time a statement he'd be repeating for numerous cases: that as 'everyone' in the courtroom knew, the Judicial Tenure Commission issued a complaint, that her former and current chief judges were among complainants who could testify against her, and that it was clear the office could not get a fair hearing in the courtroom. 'Respectfully,' he asked her to recuse herself. Hartig, who had nodded at times during the soliloquy, responded using 'respectfully' herself. She said that the prosecutor's office was aware of the oversight investigation before the formal complaint was issued, and argued there had been no problems or concerns raised. She said, in the back-and-forth across two cases, that those in the prosecutor's office issued grievances against her and that she had made attorney grievances against them — specifically McDonald and Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Hall — within the last several years. She was unaware of where her attorney grievances landed but said the only thing that changed was the public nature of the complaint against her. Zivian, however, said there were aspects of the complaint that his office was not aware of before. Taylor judge called chief judge names, flipped off security cameras, complaint says 'No teeth': Cases of 2 embattled Michigan judges highlight concerns with accountability Zivian stepped into a private room several times, including with one individual's defense attorney and Chief Public Defender Paulette Loftin. He ultimately relayed to Hartig that he had appealed to Chief Judge Reeds by Zoom and the chief judge ruled in his favor. Between the back-and-forth of the attorneys and the judge, and the judge checking her computer for responses from Reeds, it was said that the chief judge believed Zivian would need to make his motion on every single case. And so, he did. Hartig continued to deny the request, sometimes elaborating for defendants who hadn't been in the courtroom. Defense attorneys were given the chance to weigh in, and then Hartig adjourned their cases so Zivian didn't have to repeatedly jump on a Zoom call after each one to get a ruling from the chief judge. He could do that during the one or two-week adjournment, she said. Zivian was still repeating his refrain for various cases as the clock ticked toward noon. Following one such hearing, Sterling Heights-based attorney Janet Szpond bemoaned that her client's case might have been dismissed if it weren't for the recusal matter. She didn't know the ins and outs discussed in court regarding Hartig's complaint but said her client was accused of failing to return a rental car and was due in court for his preliminary examination. She believed a witness hadn't shown up, so she thought the matter may have been dismissed on June 10. Instead, her client confirmed with her that he could go back to work and jogged off. 'It's just extremely inconvenient,' Szpond said. Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a call along with his office's public information officer, Jeff Wattrick, that while matters were still evolving, it was not believed there would be great delays in the court system due to the maneuver. He also said Hartig's complaint involved more than just the dismissals involving his office, and his office was unaware of that previously. But the complaint also affirmed the office's stance regarding the judge's bias against them. Wattrick, in a statement, said that people are entitled to cases decided 'based on the law rather than personal animosity.' 'Our only goal in this matter is to ensure justice — that victims' stories are heard and that The People always receive a fair hearing before the court,' he said. Cherrin, Hartig's spokesperson, said that the prosecutor's office had appeared in front of the judge hundreds of times before and that she continues to sit on the bench. He pointed to her comments on the motion made in court. Hartig was given 14 days to issue a formal response to the June 4 complaint. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Embattled Oakland County judge asked to recuse self in multiple cases
