A Tarrant County jury has sentenced Eduardo Gonzalez to a combined 68 years in prison for a 2024 crash on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth that killed a mother, her boyfriend and her three young children. Gonzalez, who was 21 at the time of the verdict, was found guilty of five counts of intoxication manslaughter and fined $50,000.
According to CBS News Texas, Gonzalez was driving a Chevrolet Camaro about 130 mph shortly after midnight on Aug. 19, 2024, after drinking beer and consuming THC. The crash happened near the East Seminary Drive exit on I-35W, where Gonzalez’s Camaro rear-ended a vehicle carrying the victims, according to KERA. That vehicle burst into flames after impact, and all five people inside died.
The victims were identified as Willie Lee Gunn, 48; Amber Dawn Hopewell, 38; and Hopewell’s three children, Elijah Zane Carroll, 9, Chrystale Rayshell Cobbin, 4, and Amiyah LaShae Rose Fisher, 2, per CBS News Texas. Gonzalez suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries in the crash, according to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, which reported the sentencing drew on information from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and the station’s earlier coverage.
Signs of Intoxication at the Scene
Officers who responded reported that Gonzalez had red, watery eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, the same CBS News Texas report states. Police also found several beer bottles and an open can of beer inside his Camaro. FOX 4’s earlier reporting on the arrest affidavit noted that Gonzalez was uncooperative with police when questioned about the damage to his car and initially denied causing the crash.
Sentencing Breakdown
The jury convicted Gonzalez on all five counts of intoxication manslaughter and handed down 17 years in prison on each count. The sentences for the three child victims will be served consecutively, while the two sentences tied to the adult victims will run concurrently, bringing his total prison term to 68 years, the station’s report notes.
Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells said no punishment can undo what the family lost. “No sentence can restore those lives, but this verdict holds him accountable for every one of them,” Sorrells said, according to FOX 4’s reporting. He added that the victims’ families will live with the loss forever.
A Broader Pattern on Texas Roads
The case adds to a string of Dallas-Fort Worth drunk-driving prosecutions in recent years. In one earlier case, a Dallas woman was sentenced to seven years in prison after a 2023 drunken-driving crash killed an SMU student, according to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth. State transportation officials have also flagged the scale of the problem statewide: the Texas Department of Transportation has said alcohol-related crashes averaged 65 per day in a recent year, with three Texans dying daily as a result.
