Latest news with #SolomunWeldekeal-Araya
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Bond lowered for big rig driver charged in fatal I-35 crash in North Austin
A Travis County judge on Tuesday approved a drastically reduced bond for the big rig driver accused of causing March's crash on Interstate 35 in North Austin that killed five people and injured a dozen others. Bond for Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, 37, was originally set at a combined $1.2 million to correspond with five charges of intoxication manslaughter and two charges of intoxication assault. Court records filed Tuesday show that Travis County prosecutors agreed to reduce it to $7,000 — $1,000 for each of the seven charges. The change comes nearly a month after the American-Statesman revealed the results of a blood draw analysis that showed Weldekeal-Araya tested negative for drugs and alcohol, raising questions about the intoxication-related charges. In a news release Tuesday, the Travis County District Attorney's office did not say whether it planned to modify the charges against Weldekeal-Araya or explain why it had agreed to the bond reduction. "The Travis County District Attorney's Office reached an agreement to modify the conditions of pretrial release to keep our community safe while Solomun Weldekeal-Araya awaits trial," the release said. "The bond conditions require that the defendant not drive commercial vehicles, surrender any documentation that would allow him to leave the country, wear a GPS electronic monitoring unit for 90 days, agree to submit to random urine analysis for drug screening, and be supervised by Pretrial Services." A trial date has not been set. Bristol Meyers, Weldekeal-Araya's defense attorney, told the American-Statesman he expects his client to be out of custody Wednesday but declined to comment further. Meyers has previously called the Austin Police Department's investigation 'botched.' Officers concluded that Weldekeal-Araya was intoxicated and likely under the influence of central nervous system depressants based on field sobriety testing and other physical assessments, according to two different arrest affidavits. The documents noted he blew a 0.00 on a preliminary breath test and that he told officers he had not consumed any drugs or alcohol. 'I am grateful to the Austin Police Department for their work on these cases,' Travis County District Attorney José Garza said Tuesday in a statement included in the news release. 'We are continuing to work with APD to evaluate them.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bond lowered for truck driver charged in fatal I-35 crash in N Austin
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Bond reduced for driver arrested following deadly I-35 crash in north Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The truck driver police arrested last month in connection to a deadly 18-vehicle pileup on I-35 in north Austin had his bond dropped to $1,000 per charge, according to online court records. The crash killed five people and injured 11 others, according to APD. Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, 37, still faces seven DWI-related felony charges, which came after field sobriety tests and drug recognition examinations APD conducted in the its preliminary investigation. But weeks later, a toxicology report found he did not have any alcohol or drugs he was tested for in his system. Amazon denies allegations in I-35 crash lawsuits Shortly after that, his attorney Bristol Myers requested to have Araya's bond dropped and that he be released from jail on $1 per charge. He was originally held on $200,000 each for six intoxication manslaughter charges and $100,000 for an intoxication assault charge, according to online court records. According to those same Travis County court records, his bond was lowered on Tuesday to $1,000 per charge, and his bond conditions were modified to include the following: GPS monitoring with no curfew and no exclusion zones Use of an ignition interlock device Pretrial supervision No operation of a commercial motor vehicle I-35 crash victim spent 25th birthday in a coma, attorney says The courts came to this agreement the day before the scheduled bond hearing to discuss the matter. The Travis County District Attorney's Office said it 'reached an agreement to modify the conditions of pretrial release to keep our community safe while Solomun Weldekeal-Araya awaits trial. The agreement was reached with defense counsel, and the Court approved it.' Myers said last month there was 'a lack of probable cause,' following Weldekeal-Araya being accused of being under the influence at the time of the crash. Weldekeal-Araya was hauling an Amazon load when the crash happened. Amazon maintains he is not am Amazon employee, but worked for an independent trucking company that Amazon contracts with. In addition to criminal charges, there are currently four active lawsuits related to this case on behalf of those killed and injured. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
NTSB releases more details in preliminary report on I-35 crash that killed five
AUSTIN (KXAN) – The National Transportation Safety Board provided an update Thursday on its investigation into the deadly Interstate 35 crash that occurred on March 13, including which vehicles the victims were driving in. Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, 37, was charged with intoxication manslaughter and assault charges following the 18-vehicle pileup that killed five people and injured 11 others near Parmer and Howard Lane. Weldekeal-Araya's attorney, Bristol Myers, is asking for him to be released from jail after toxicology results found no drugs or alcohol in his system. Myers asked for his bond to be reduced to $1 in each case, due to 'a lack of probable cause,' according to court documents. Attorney for truck driver in I-35 deadly crash asks for release, bond reduction According to a preliminary report from NTSB, Weldekeal-Araya's tractor truck failed to slow down as he approached slowing traffic while traveling south on I-35 just after 11 p.m. Traffic was slowed due to a lane closure for an overnight pavement resurfacing project, which was scheduled from 9 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. the following day. NTSB said Weldekeal-Araya did not stop as he approached the traffic queue and struck the rear of a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta and a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. After hitting the two vehicles, Weldekeal-Araya continued driving into the queue for 0.1 miles, according to NTSB. NTSB said all four people in the Jetta died. Of the three people in the pickup truck, one died, and the other two were injured. Weldekeal Araya did not suffer any injuries, NTSB said. NTSB is still investigating the incident. Its goal is to issue safety recommendations so that similar incidents can be avoided in the future, NTSB said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
