Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office sergeant crashed into McAllen officer prior to DWI arrest

Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Joshua C. Kaltenbach

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office sergeant charged with driving while intoxicated was arrested after crashing into an off-duty McAllen Police Department sergeant who was stopped at a red light Tuesday night.

A probable cause affidavit for Joshua C. Kaltenbach’s arrest said the minor crash happened at approximately 9:25 p.m. in the 4000 block of N. 23rd Street.

The reporting party was McAllen police Sergeant Maria Dolores who called authorities after she made contact following the fender bender with Kaltenbach, 46, of McAllen, and suspected that he was intoxicated.

The responding officer asked Kaltenbach to pull over into the McAllen Public Library’s parking lot and it was there that the officer said they detected a strong odor of alcohol.

“Joshua stated he was coming from his house and was ‘on his way to Dairy Queen which is located beside the Flamingo Bowl’ (Note: there is no Dairy Queen located near the Flamingo Bowl),” the affidavit stated.

Kaltenbach told the responding officer that he had not been drinking, but had previously told Dolores he had two drinks, according to the affidavit.

Kaltenbach agreed to take some field sobriety tests, which he did not pass successfully, according to the affidavit, which said he declined to provide a sample of his breath or blood.

McAllen police then obtained a warrant for a blood specimen.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said Kaltenbach had been placed on administrative leave without pay.

He was booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday and released that same day on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, records show.