A 23-year-old McAllen man on Monday pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him for the February death of an 85-year-old man following a three-vehicle crash.
Lou Autry Gomez was charged with manslaughter and injury to the elderly for the Feb. 22 death of Francisco Quijada.
Police allege that Gomez, who had been smoking marijuana that day, was speeding through a shoulder lane because he felt people were brake checking him when he merged into the lane.
Gomez was heading south on McColl Road in a red Chevrolet Sonic behind a black Chevrolet Trailblazer which was driven by Brenda Zeledon and occupied by her four children.
A probable cause affidavit for his arrest said Gomez tried to pass the Trailblazer by driving on the shoulder lane and ended up hitting Zeledon’s vehicle, which caused her to lose control and swerve into oncoming traffic. She collided head-on with a gray Chevrolet Silverado driven by Quijada, who died at the scene.
Gomez also lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a drainage ditch.
Zeledon and her children were taken to McAllen Medical Center for injuries they sustained during the crash.
Gomez bailed out of the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on Feb. 25 on a total of $52,000 in bonds.
A Hidalgo County grand jury indicted him on July 26.
