|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
EDINBURG — An Omaha man is on trial for allegations that he drove while intoxicated on the wrong side of the road, causing a multi-vehicle accident that left one person dead in 2021.
Tyrone Dewayne Amos, 33, is facing one count of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle, manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury following a crash that happened on May 4, 2021.
Amos is accused of killing 27-year-old Victor Bazan Jr. who was the passenger in a maroon Chevrolet Malibu driven by his then fiance Tania Ruby Soto.
Prosecutor Michelle Beltran described the crash in her opening arguments, how Bazan was pronounced dead at the scene and that the jury will hear Amos state that he was “faded” when talking to police.
“This is a straightforward case,” Beltran said.
Earlier this month, the court held a hearing for a motion to suppress statements made by Amos. During that hearing, body cam footage from Edinburg Police Officer Christopher Martinez was presented to the court.
In the first interaction Martinez has with Amos, the officer asked him if he was OK to which Amos replied, “I’m faded.”
Beltran continued, stating that Amos was intoxicated after having drank in downtown McAllen where he smoked marijuana as well.
Amos’ defense attorney, Chris Sully, argued that the state won’t be able to prove that his client was intoxicated that night and asked the jury, regarding expert witnesses, to “put their feet to the fire.”
“We anticipate that the evidence will show that Amos wasn’t intoxicated,” Sully said.
Prosecutors then called their first witness, Soto, who broke down in tears at the stand when asked if she was nervous.
The court heard that her newborn child is currently in the ICU due to a medical condition. Beltran said she’ll go as fast as she can so Soto could be with her son.
Soto stated that she and Bazan were on their way to Austin to work when the crash happened. According to her testimony, she worked as an electrician and Bazan was not just her fiance but her boss as well.
She couldn’t remember much of the crash when she was asked to recall events leading up to or during the crash.
“I just remember Victor yelling and I kept looking at the road,” Soto said. “I thought I was going to die.”
Soto recalls seeing a car “in the air.”
(Courtesy Photo)
According to her, as she was driving on North Expressway 281, she couldn’t see the road ahead because that part of the road is on a hill and one can only see beyond that once they’ve reached its apex.
“You can’t see what’s in front of you until you pass it,” Soto said.
Defense Attorney Oscar Vega then asked her if she had a driver’s license to which Soto said no.
“You think not having a driver’s license could’ve had an effect on the collision?” Vega asked. Soto disagreed.
He then asked about the events prior to them going on the road. He asked what time Soto went to bed and if Bazan had been drinking or doing drugs before heading to Austin later that night.
Soto said that she went to bed around 10 p.m. and that Bazan had gone to bed earlier than her.
Going back to the crash, Soto elaborated that when it was happening, Bazan had grabbed the steering wheel to veer them into the grassy median.
When asked about her injuries, Soto said that she had suffered several broken bones of which she had to get surgery on. It required metal plates and screws to fix and the ordeal lasted about eight months, according to Soto.
She now walks with a limp and still suffers to this day.
“It still hurts,” Soto said in tears. “I can’t carry my kids. It’s always painful.”
Amos’ trial will continue Tuesday morning.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Here’s the latest update:
Jury deliberating fate of Nebraska man in deadly Edinburg crash
