A 68-year-old woman was killed in Starr County on Saturday after an 18-year-old man traveling on U.S. Highway 83 drove off the roadway and struck a white Nissan Sentra as well as pedestrians, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DPS booked Adalberto Barron into Starr County jail Saturday on a charge of manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Authorities believe he was on his phone at the time of the fatal accident.
In a news release, DPS says the accident occurred at about 1:25 p.m. Saturday at mile marker 812, just east of Escobares.
“Preliminary investigation revealed a brown Chevrolet pickup was traveling on Highway US 83 when it drove off the roadway striking a white Nissan Sentra that was exiting a driveway,” the release stated. “Furthermore, after the first impact, the Chevrolet continued traveling until striking a fence and crashing into two pedestrians that were standing outside a silver Buick suv.”
One of those pedestrians, Oneida Guerra, of Roma, died at the hospital, according to the release.
As of Sunday afternoon, Starr County jail records showed he hasn’t yet had bond set.
