A San Antonio man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2024 crash that killed his passenger, after investigators determined he was driving 116 mph with a blood-alcohol concentration more than twice the legal limit and never touched the brakes before slamming into the back of a pickup truck. Jose Luis Ibarra, now 25, was convicted of intoxication manslaughter in the death of Alexandra Jasmine Vargas, who suffered burns and broken bones in the crash and later died from her injuries.
According to KSAT, the crash happened on June 28, 2024, when Ibarra was driving a black 2023 Dodge Charger northeastbound on Historic Old Highway 90. San Antonio police reported that the Charger struck the rear of a 1999 Ford F-350 in the 500 block of the roadway. The Charger caught fire after the collision, and Vargas was taken to a hospital, where she ultimately died from her injuries.
Data pulled from the Charger's airbag control module showed the vehicle was traveling 116 mph at the time of impact, and that the accelerator was fully depressed up to a half-second before the crash. Investigators found no skid marks or steering-input markings indicating any attempt to avoid hitting the truck ahead of him. According to court documents cited in the same report, Ibarra told an officer he was driving at a high rate of speed when the truck stopped in front of him.
A Blood-Alcohol Level Twice The Legal Limit
Per the arrest affidavit, Ibarra's blood-alcohol concentration measured 0.166, more than twice the legal limit. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.01, a BAC of 0.08% or higher establishes per se legal intoxication, according to Randall Isenberg Law, meaning Ibarra's reading was well beyond the statutory threshold.
Intoxication manslaughter is classified under Texas Penal Code Section 49.08 as a second-degree felony, carrying a sentencing range of two to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, as explained by FindLaw. Ibarra's 10-year sentence falls roughly in the middle of that range. Texas law does not require prosecutors to prove criminal intent to harm in these cases — only that the defendant was intoxicated behind the wheel and that the intoxication caused a death, according to Deandra Grant Law.
A Corridor With A History Of Deadly Crashes
The stretch of Historic Old Highway 90 where the crash occurred has drawn scrutiny before. Hoodline reported that the corridor on San Antonio's west side has a documented history of severe vehicular and pedestrian crashes, including multiple fatal hit-and-run incidents reported along the roadway in late 2025 and 2026.
The crash fits into a broader pattern of impaired driving on Bexar County roads. Texas Department of Transportation data recorded 2,237 alcohol-related traffic crashes in the San Antonio area in 2024, resulting in 88 fatalities and 155 serious injuries, according to Texas Public Radio. Statewide, more than 22,000 crashes were connected to drunk driving in 2024, causing 988 deaths — an average of nearly three alcohol-related traffic fatalities per day, per the Harper Law Firm.
The Toll On Trauma Centers And Families
University Health System's trauma center in San Antonio treats an average of 250 patients a year injured in drunk driving crashes, roughly 20 victims a month, according to a University Health blog post. Beyond the human toll, a DWI conviction in Texas can cost up to $17,000 once bail, fines, court costs, attorney fees, and car impoundment are factored in, the health system notes.
Vargas's death adds to a string of recent Bexar County cases involving high-speed, alcohol-fueled crashes. Hoodline previously covered a driver sentenced to 12 years in a fatal Potranco Road crash, as well as a case involving a driver clocked at 111 mph before a crash near Bulverde. Ibarra's sentencing marks another entry in what local officials continue to describe as a persistent public-safety problem tied to impaired driving on San Antonio roadways.
