San Juan police arrested a 27-year-old Alamo woman Tuesday and charged her with criminal negligent homicide for a fatal Jan. 25 crash.
Investigators allege Nylza Cristal Lopez was distracted and speeding when she drove past a stop sign at the intersection of Cesar Chavez and Sioux roads and hit a vehicle driven by 57-year-old Nauhm Puente Ramos, who died at the scene.
The crash happened at about 1:26 p.m. and involved a gray 2006 Ford Focus driven by Ramos and a white 2017 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Lopez.
An officer who arrived on scene at about 1:31 p.m. said in a probable cause affidavit that the Focus went through a fence onto a property and the Silverado was in a ditch east of north Cesar Chavez Road.
Ramos, who was pinned inside his vehicle, was unresponsive.
Investigators obtained surveillance video from a nearby church that showed the Silverado completely disregard the stop sign at the intersection and strike Ramos’ vehicle directly on the driver’s side, according to the affidavit.
The man suffered neck, rib and spine fractures, as well as hemorrhaging and a torn aorta, police say.
“Officer made contact with driver of the Silverado identified as Nyzla C Lopez-Garcia, who stated she was reaching for something on the floorboard and did not see the stop sign. Ms. Lopez admitted to being distracted at the time,” the affidavit stated.
A witness to the crash told police she heard Lopez say “I was reaching for something and didn’t see it.”
During an interview at the San Juan Police Department, Lopez told an investigator she was holding a cellphone in her right hand prior to the impact, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also determined she was speeding with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, which executed a search warrant on the Silverado for the Crash Data Retrieval and found Lopez was driving significantly over the 30 mph speed limit, authorities say.
Lopez bailed out on a $3,000 bond Tuesday, records show.
