A San Antonio man with a history of law-breaking has been handed down a crushing 60-year prison sentence for a deadly DUI crash that claimed the life of a local mother, court officials announced today.
Christopher Luis Del Toro, 42, was sentenced after being convicted of veering into oncoming traffic and smashing into Jessica Brill, 44, while intoxicated in March 2022. The violent collision snuffed out Brill's life and narrowly spared her daughter, who was in the car, according to FOX San Antonio. “Driving while intoxicated endangers innocent lives,” Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales stated.
The tragic incident unfolded just after midnight when Del Toro's 2006 Chevy Trailblazer careened into Brill's 2004 Buick Rendezvous on South Flores Street and East Dickson Avenue, propelling her from the vehicle and leading to her immediate death. As reported by KSAT, Del Toro's blood alcohol concentration was found to be more than twice the legal limit.
Del Toro's attorney raised the issue that Brill could have been drinking on the night of the crash and was not wearing a seatbelt, an argument that evidently did not sway the court's heavy sentencing decision, further compounded by Del Toro's previous convictions, including one for aggravated assault. The repeat offender status catapulted the intoxication manslaughter charge to a first-degree felony. Del Toro now faces the prospect of an elongated stretch behind bars, with a stipulation that he must serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole, per FOX San Antonio.
