A young driver is now facing serious charges following a collision that claimed a life. According to a news release from the City of Houston, 17-year-old Axel David Varela Rodriguez has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after his vehicle struck another Saturday night on the Eastex Freeway service road.
The incident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. near Tidwell Road, involved Varela Rodriguez’s Jeep Cherokee failing to halt at a traffic signal and crashing into an eastbound silver Toyota RAV4, that in turn struck a signal light pole, the driver of the Toyota, a 41-year-old man whose name has yet to be disclosed pending an investigation by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Houston Fire Department paramedics.
As per the Houston Police Department Vehicular Crimes Division Sergeant R. Dallas and Officer R. Young, Varela Rodriguez remained at the site of the crash; upon evaluation, authorities determined he was under the influence and was subsequently booked into the Harris County Jail, and with the gravity of the situation at hand, further investigations are ongoing to unravel the full circumstances of this fatal encounter.
