A Travis County judge has sentenced a 36-year-old man to probation after finding him guilty of manslaughter in the death of Killeen Fire Department Capt. Marvin Taylor III, who was killed in May 2025 when a speeding Dodge Durango slammed into his vehicle in Austin. Rodney Earl Bremby II will serve 10 years of straight probation, along with 403 hours of community service and $535 in fees.
Bremby pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony charge and was found guilty of manslaughter, according to The Killeen Daily Herald. Court records cited by the outlet show the plea was entered in Travis County’s 450th Judicial District Court on Aug. 24. He had originally faced a second-degree felony charge of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle.
A Night That Began With a Birth and Ended in Tragedy
Taylor, off duty at the time, had just left an Austin hospital after the birth of his fifth child and was on his way to pick up his other children to bring them to meet the new baby, per the Herald’s reporting. He was the only occupant of his Toyota Sienna when Bremby’s Dodge struck his vehicle.
According to an arrest affidavit detailed by kdhnews.com, an Austin police officer was on patrol around 1:05 a.m. approaching a red light at East Koenig Lane and Airport Boulevard when he saw a black Dodge Durango pass on the right in the center lane at high speed. The Durango then struck the rear driver side of Taylor’s blue Toyota Sienna. East Koenig Lane carries a 45 mph speed limit.
103 MPH at the Moment of Impact
Police said Bremby’s Dodge was traveling 103 mph at the moment of impact and had been going 93 mph five seconds earlier, the affidavit states. The officer’s in-car camera captured video of the collision. The Toyota traveled roughly 150 feet after impact before coming to rest in the grassy median, and the affidavit described heavy rear-driver-side intrusion that pinned Taylor inside while the Dodge sustained heavy damage to its front passenger side.
The responding officer moved his patrol vehicle to stop traffic and check on the Toyota’s driver, and another Austin police unit was able to render aid to Taylor immediately, until fire and EMS crews arrived. The Herald reported that Taylor died at the scene.
Signs of Impairment Led to Arrest
Officers identified Bremby as the driver of the Dodge and saw him reaching inside the vehicle at its driver door before he was detained, according to the affidavit. Another officer then administered a standardized field sobriety test at the scene. The affidavit described Bremby as displaying bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, an alcohol odor, swaying, staggering and disorientation, though he told officers he had not had any alcoholic beverages. At the conclusion of the sobriety test, the officer determined Bremby was impaired and placed him under arrest.
Bremby was booked into the Travis County Jail the day after the May 11 crash. His bond was set at $103,000 on May 12, and he posted it on May 14, according to kdhnews.com.
Years of Supervision, No Prison Time
More than a year later, the resolution of the case has brought a sentence of supervision rather than incarceration. Under the 10-year probation term reported by the Herald, Bremby must complete 403 hours of community service and pay $535 in fees.
The case echoes another recent Austin-area impaired-driving prosecution: KXAN Austin reported that a man who pleaded guilty to DWI and drug possession in a 2024 fatal crash received deferred adjudication in May 2025 rather than prison time. Federal data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows Texas led the nation in alcohol-impaired-driving traffic fatalities, with 1,699 recorded.
Taylor’s death left a void in the Killeen Fire Department and among a family that had just welcomed a newborn. The sentencing closes out the criminal case against Bremby, more than 17 months after the crash on East Koenig Lane upended both families' lives.
