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A 33-year-old Nebraska man who was convicted of intoxicated manslaughter in late September was formally sentenced Wednesday.
Tyrone Dewayne Amos was convicted on a count of intoxication manslaughter, two counts of intoxication assault and one count of manslaughter after causing a fiery crash that resulted in the death of 27-year-old Victor Bazan Jr. in 2021.
On Sept. 24, jurors sentenced Amos to 15 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter, five years for each of the intoxication assault counts and 10 years for manslaughter.
However, on Wednesday morning, state District Judge Fernando Mancias ordered that the two counts of intoxication assault would run concurrent, but would be stacked on top of the intoxication manslaughter and manslaughter sentences, which would also run concurrent, for a total of 20 years, Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios said.
On May 4, 2021, Amos went drinking in downtown McAllen with a few of his friends. He would later testify that he smoked marijuana when he was there as well.
During his testimony, Amos said he smoked marijuana every day and, despite not being a heavy drinker, that he could hold his alcohol.
Amos stated he lost his friends and ended up with another group of people who helped him get to his apartment in Edinburg.
What happened between then and the crash remains unclear.
The crash happened at about 4:35 a.m. in the 1400 block of North Expressway 281.
Amos was driving southbound in the northbound lanes in a Chevrolet Trailblazer when he crashed head-on into a Dodge Ram driven by Melissa Pena and clipped another person’s Ford F-150.
At the same time, Bazan’s then-fiance, Tania Ruby Soto, was driving their maroon Chevrolet Malibu as they were Austin-bound for work.
During her testimony at trial, Soto stated she couldn’t recall anything, but she remembered seeing a car “in the air.”
“I just remember Victor yelling and I kept looking at the road,” Soto said. “I thought I was going to die.”
Soto elaborated that as the crash was happening, Bazan got a hold of the wheel and steered them into the grassy median before being hit.
She also testified that she lives in pain now and is unable to carry her children due to the injuries sustained that night.
“There’s not a day that goes by that she’s not in pain,” Soto’s mother, San Juanita Martinez said in Spanish during her testimony.
Martinez added that Soto’s oldest son, who had gotten to know Bazan before his death, still keeps pictures of Bazan in his room and speaks to him every day.
