A 30-year-old Odessa man was arrested early Friday morning following a crash that killed his passenger.
According to a Texas Department of Public Safety arrest affidavit, Mario Lopez-Valdez was involved in a single-vehicle crash shortly before 1 a.m. Friday in Ector County that killed Luis Carlos Lujan-Gameros, 51.
A Chevrolet Impala was traveling south on State Loop 338 near mile post 252 when it veered off the west side of the roadway, according to DPS.
Originally, DPS reported Lujan-Gameros was driving the Impala, but according to the arrest affidavit, Lopez-Valdez admitted he’d been driving the car and troopers saw a seatbelt mark across his left collar bone.
Lopez-Valdez admitted he’d had six alcoholic beverages at a friend’s house before the crash and performed poorly on field sobriety tests, the report stated.
Lopez-Valdez was arrested on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. He remains in the Ector County jail on a $50,000 surety bond and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.
