Latest news with #Weldekeal-Araya
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Deadly I-35 crash: APD chief supports initial decision on intoxication charges
The Brief In March, a truck driver was accused of causing a deadly multi-vehicle crash on I-35 in Austin A toxication report revealed he was sober at the time of the crash Initially, he was thought to be under the influence, and APD Chief Lisa Davis supports that decision AUSTIN, Texas - A truck driver accused of causing a deadly pile-up on I-35 in March was charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault, but lab results later revealed he was sober. The Austin police chief said she supports her investigators' initial decision on charges involving intoxication. What they're saying "The point and the fact does not change that this was the man behind the wheel driving that car," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said. Solomun Weldekeal-Araya was driving a semi-truck on I-35 when police said he plowed into the cars ahead as the lanes reduced from three to one. Five people were killed and almost a dozen more were injured. During the field sobriety test, Austin police said Weldekeal-Araya had uncontrollable eye movements, was swaying, didn't correctly complete the walk and turn or one-leg stand tests, and appeared very calm and indifferent, which seemed unusual given the circumstances. Later, when Weldekeal-Araya was in the hospital, another Austin police officer said "he observed the onset of nystagmus, and he appeared drowsy." Court documents said the two officers believed Weldekeal-Araya was under the influence of central nervous system depressants. "In the way that APD does it, when you have the horizontal gaze, and you're going off of that and the officer's looking at that and doing performance measures, a second officer has to verify that before charges are filed. So, a second officer verified that, and so the charges were made," Chief Davis said. Weldekeal-Araya was arrested and charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. "It is not uncommon when you get a DUI charge and there are no breathalyzers, or it's showing negative for the breathalyzer, to make those charges and see what the lab results are," Chief Davis said. The lab results came back, and they showed no alcohol or drugs in Weldekeal-Araya's system. Late last month, a judge reduced his bond from more than a million dollars to $7,000 after his attorney argued there wasn't probable cause to hold him for those charges. Weldekeal-Araya was released this month. He is not allowed to drive a commercial vehicle and must take random drug tests. "I don't have a problem with the investigation. The investigation is ongoing," Chief Davis said. What's next APD said their vehicular homicide unit is working with the Travis County District Attorney's Office to determine specific charges. Weldekeal-Araya's attorney is set to check in with the district attorney's office next month. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis
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.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
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
