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EDINBURG — Tyrone Amos, the 33-year-old Nebraska man on trial over a fiery crash that claimed another man’s life and injured two others in 2021, has been found guilty of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle.
A jury found Amos guilty after deliberating for about four hours, which extended from Thursday afternoon into Friday.
Amos had pleaded not guilty to intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle, manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury. He was found guilty on all four counts.
His bonds were also revoked due to the guilty verdict.
The trial, which began on Aug. 26, stems from the May 4, 2021 crash on Highway 281 north of Edinburg that left 27-year-old Victor Bazan Jr. dead
Prosecutor Michelle Beltran said the crash was preventable during closing arguments Thursday, adding that one of the victims, Melissa Pena, testified that she couldn’t get out of the way of Amos’ vehicle, a Chevrolet Trailblazer, because there was another car beside hers, and that she could only see lights coming toward her.
Beltran also said that Amos himself may have been killed if “two of his victims (had) not pulled him out,” due to his vehicle igniting in flames.
The defendant also took the stand Thursday and admitted to drinking in downtown McAllen, having two or three beers and two shots in addition to smoking marijuana, which blood tests confirmed.
Defense attorney Chris Sully argued that the crash was an accident and that Amos’ blood alcohol content was 0.05, below the legal limit of 0.08.
The prosecution countered by citing a medical expert’s testimony that Amos would have been over the legal limit if he had been tested at the time of the crash, but he wasn’t tested until three hours later.
The sentencing portion of the case is expected to begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
