A La Joya man charged with manslaughter for a fatal Sunday crash is accused in the death of his nephew.
McAllen police also charged Saul Aguirre with a count of aggravated assault after his brother sustained skull fractures and broken legs in the crash, as well as two counts of endangering a child because his two young nieces, aged 4 and 5, were in the vehicle.
The deadly chain of events started in the 1500 block of South Ware Road when police say Aguirre rear-ended a Dodge Grand Caravan and attempted to get away from the vehicle instead of pulling over to exchange insurance information.
“I asked Aguirre what had occurred before the crash occurred. Aguirre stated he was involved in a collision where he had struck a vehicle (Dodge Grand Caravan) from behind. Aguirre stated he became scared because he or (his brother) did not have money to pay for the damage to the Caravan,” an officer wrote in a report.
Aguirre and his brother, Carlos Ozuna Sr., had been out collecting membership fees for his uncle’s soccer team before the hit-and-run, according to the report.
He told police he was scared because his uncle lived in Mexico and he didn’t think the vehicle was insured so he ran, police say.
“Aguirre stated that he remained on the middle lane and stated he was traveling at a speed of ’60s-70s’ away from the Caravan. The posted speed limit is 55,” the report states.
When he tried to avoid a ‘slower vehicle’ in the middle lane of the 5000 block of West Frontage Road by merging to the outside lane, he lost control of the Rogue and rolled several times, police say.
Ozuna Sr., and his son, an 8-year-old, who were not wearing seatbelts, appear to have been ejected from the vehicle, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The man who Aguirre had hit in the 1500 block of South Ware Road told police he followed Aguirre to try and get his license plate and saw him hit a curb before losing control of the vehicle, police say.
McAllen police performed field sobriety tests on Aguirre, who did not display signs of intoxication, according to the affidavit, which states he voluntarily provided police with a sample of his blood.
Aguirre remains jailed on $215,000 in bonds.
