The 27-year-old Pharr woman accused of murder after what authorities say to have been an alcohol-fueled chase which resulted in a fatal crash killing a Progresso teen in April will be arraigned Tuesday morning.
Daena Nicole Gonzalez is charged with the murder of 18-year-old Jaime Garcia Jr., who was on his way to visit friends. She also faces evading arrest and intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle charges, court documents show.
On June 8, a judge reduced her $1 million bond to $750,000, court records show.
The pursuit began around 7:16 p.m. when a caller informed the Mid-Valley Communications Center that a woman in a blue Ford Explorer was throwing up outside a Stripes store in Progreso, according to Weslaco Police Chief Joel Rivera.
Progreso Police Chief Cesar Solis intercepted Gonzalez on Farm-to-Market Road 1015 and conducted a traffic stop after observing her running red lights and speeding. During the stop, according to Rivera, Solis noticed signs of intoxication such as Gonzalez emitting a strong odor of alcohol and having an unsteady balance.
The probable cause affidavit states that Solis noticed Gonzalez had vomit and urine stains on her clothes when he was speaking to her.
Solis asked Gonzalez to sit on the bumper of her vehicle as they waited for a portable breath test to be performed by a DPS trooper after she failed three field sobriety tests when she made her escape, according to the affidavit.
The complaint says Solis struggled with Gonzalez, who had closed the rear hatch of her Explorer and jumped into the driver’s seat in order to flee the scene toward Weslaco, but was unable to stop her.
The high-speed chase took a fatal turn when Gonzalez rear ended Garcia’s Kia Optima, erupting in flames upon impact and pinning him inside, on FM 1015 and Mile 6 North Road, according to witnesses.
According to Rivera, Garcia was a senior at Mercedes High School and planned on joining the U.S. Navy.
Police say Gonzalez’s speedometer got stuck at the moment of impact and read 90 mph.
Gonzalez remains jailed at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center, jail records show.
