A 22-year-old Harlingen man is waiting to be transported to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility after pleading guilty to an intoxication manslaughter charge.
Luis Zuniga IV admitted to causing a Dec. 17, 2020, wreck that killed Maria Del Carmen Rocha, 64, of San Benito.
Zuniga IV appeared Monday before 404th state District Court Judge Ricardo M. Adobbati via Zoom where he pleaded guilty to one count of intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 13 years to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice System.
Zuniga IV is currently being held at a Cameron County jail until he is transferred to the TDCJ facility.
A Cameron County grand jury on Feb. 17, 2021 indicted Zuniga IV on the intoxication manslaughter charge. According to the indictment, Zuniga IV operated a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. It states Zuniga IV did “cause the death of another, namely Maria Del Carmen Rocha by accident or mistake namely by driving defendant’s motor vehicle into the motor vehicle driven by Maria Del Carmen Rocha.”
The accident happened at about 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2020 on East Harrison Avenue in Harlingen.
Harlingen police responded to the area after receiving a call of multiple parked cars being struck by another vehicle.
EMS transferred Rocha to a Harlingen hospital where she later died. Zuniga IV was arrested at the scene.
