A Hidalgo County grand jury indicted a 41-year-old Edinburg man for allegedly hitting and killing an 18-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant in August as she poured gas into a vehicle.
Carlos Santiago Rodriguez was charged with two counts of accident involving death, a count of accident involving serious bodily injury and a count of tampering with evidence because he allegedly concealed, destroyed or altered airbags and license plates to impede an investigation into the crash by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The crash occurred Aug. 1 and according to a DPS news release, authorities at the time said an unknown person hit and killed Lorena Perez and an unidentified woman while they were pouring gas at approximately 9:35 p.m. on North Alamo Road, south of 17 1/2 Road.
Doctors at a hospital administered an emergency C-section on Perez in an attempt to save the unborn child, who the indictment identifies as Alexander Jay Briseno.
The two death counts are for the deaths of Perez and her baby, while the accident involving serious bodily injury count is for the other woman who was pouring gas.
Rodriguez is in federal custody and is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Monday afternoon. However, since he is in federal custody, that arraignment is unlikely to happen.
In an Aug. 3 news release, DPS said Rodriguez turned himself in Aug. 2.
At the time of the crash, Rodriguez was serving 10 years probation after being convicted of his fourth DWI.
Prosecutors are seeking to revoke his probation for that fourth conviction.
Online jail records indicate he was arrested for drinking and driving in 2003, 2005, 2011 and 2015.
The U.S. Marshals took custody of Rodriguez on Sept. 23 after he was indicted for illegal re-entry, court records indicate.
He has pleaded guilty and is currently scheduled for sentencing Feb. 2.
The grand jury indicted Rodriguez on the state charges Dec. 16.
