18-year-old killed by accused drunk driver wanted to serve his country, Texas cops say

An 18-year-old who was preparing to graduate from high school and wanted to serve his country was killed by a suspected drunk driver, Texas police say.

“This is a senseless death,” Weslaco Police Chief Joel Rivera said in a statement. “The woman made extremely poor decisions, which resulted in the tragic death of an innocent teenager who had his whole life ahead of him.”

Jaime Elias Garcia Jr. “enjoyed playing sports, going to the gym and making his friends laugh,” family said in his obituary.

The other driver has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in the April 30 crash, police said.

Authorities say Daena Nicole Gonzalez, 27, was intoxicated and caused the crash that killed Garcia.

Progreso police had stopped Gonzalez on suspicion of DWI before the crash, but she “failed to remain stationary” and drove away toward Weslaco, authorities say.

While driving at least 90 mph, police say, she crashed into the vehicle Garcia was driving at a Weslaco intersection.

“During the investigation, Weslaco police determined Gonzalez had been drinking in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico immediately before she made the decision to drive while intoxicated and evade Progreso police at a high rate of speed,” according to the news release shared to Facebook.

Weslaco is about 8 miles north of Progreso and 10 miles north of Nuevo Progreso.

Gonzalez was taken to a hospital for treatment of “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” police said. She will be taken to jail after she is released, and she is being held on a $1 million bond.

This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 9:10 AM with the headline "18-year-old killed by accused drunk driver wanted to serve his country, Texas cops say."