A criminal complaint against a Georgia woman accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and killing a Louisiana Army National Guardsman offers a glimpse into the fatal Sunday wreck.
McAllen Police responded to the scene of the crash in the area of the 100 block of North 23rd Street about 2:24 a.m. Sunday.
According to the complaint, police found a silver Ford F-150 with “major damage” to its front left side near a large wooden pole with debris on the roadway.
The McAllen Fire Department was also at the scene providing assistance to a man identified as Claude Cecile Berry who had a major injury to his right arm.
When the responding officer spoke with the driver of the vehicle, who was identified as Bianca Farmer, a Georgia native, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol from Farmer. She told the officer she had only had one drink and that she had been at “The Gallery” in the downtown bar district and was driving to a Hampton Inn hotel when the crash occurred.
“Mrs. Farmer (said) that she had been traveling north bound on 23rd street when someone cut her off which caused her to swerve,” a probable cause affidavit said.
The officer was then informed that another passenger was still in the truck. The passenger was identified as 23-year-old Spc. Nashyra S. Whitaker, a soldier from the Louisiana Army National Guard’s Company E, 199th Brigade Support Battalion, 769th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She had been with the National Guard since February 2019.
Whitaker had been sitting in the left side of the backseat of the truck and had sustained major injuries to her head and one of her arms. She was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace J. Pena at 3:52 a.m. Berry, the other passenger, was transported to McAllen Medical Center and had to have his right arm amputated as a result of the crash.
Farmer was taken to the McAllen municipal jail where field sobriety tests were administered. It was determined that Farmer had been driving the truck while intoxicated.
She was arrested and arraigned Sunday evening and charged with intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony, intoxication assault, a third-degree felony, and driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor. Her bonds total $190,000.
