A 41-year-old man who pleaded not guilty to two counts of intoxication manslaughter on Tuesday listened as the distraught grandmother of one of the deceased told the court he needs to pay.
“He deserves to pay. He deserves justice. He deserves God’s justice,” the woman told state District Judge Fernando Mancias, who allowed her to speak following Daniel Sustaita’s arraignment.
Sustaita, who appeared via video conferencing from the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center, entered the not guilty pleas to the indictment that charges him with causing a crash that killed Christopher Moses Garcia and Karen Garcia, both 21, on March 11.
Probable cause affidavits for his arrest allege he was under the influence of alcohol and benzodiazepines, which are mild tranquilizers, when he rear-ended a vehicle and killed the two 21-year-olds inside.
Officers also found five baggies of cocaine in his possession after the crash, which happened about 1:48 a.m. in the 2400 block of East Main Avenue.
Sustaita also sustained injuries in the crash and was sent to a hospital in critical condition, where he spent approximately 10 days until he was released to Alton police, who charged him with two counts of intoxication manslaughter and a count of possession of a controlled substance.
The affidavits also indicate that an officer witnessed the crash. Both Garcia and Espino were found unresponsive inside the vehicle they were in and pronounced dead at the scene.
Sustaita’s white Ford F-150 crashed into a tree and officers found him on the driver’s side “taking deep shallow breaths” and bleeding from his mouth.
He remains in custody on a total of $2 million in bonds on the intoxication manslaughter charges.
Staff Writer Dina Arevalo contributed to this report
