A former San Juan police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to driving drunk nearly a year ago and causing a major crash that left a woman pinned in a vehicle.
Ricardo Daniel Sanchez Martinez, 29, of McAllen, pleaded guilty to intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury for the Nov. 20, 2021 crash in San Juan.
San Juan police, however, did not arrest Martinez until April 25 because he spent months in the hospital following the crash.
Investigators were also waiting on toxicology test results.
The crash occurred at 12:28 a.m. that day at the intersection of Veterans Boulevard and Business 83 where Martinez, who was driving a Ford Fusion, hit a tan Chevrolet Suburban head-on.
There were five passengers in the Suburban and the crash left the front passenger pinned inside and unable to move, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Responding police found Martinez on the ground with major facial injuries and also discovered a smashed, empty bottle of Michelob Ultra in the center console of the Ford Fusion.
A witness told police they saw Martinez driving against traffic prior to the crash and investigators later learned his blood alcohol level was at 0.260, which is more than three times the legal drinking limit of .08 blood alcohol concentration.
Martinez resigned when San Juan police served him his termination papers.
Martinez bailed out of the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a $50,000 bond on the day of his arrest and has remained free pending the resolution of his case.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in early December.
