BRYAN MAN GETS 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DWI CRASH

  

A Bryan man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection to a fatal DWI crash in 2014.

According to the Brazos County District Attorney’s Office, 24-year-old Erick Sanchez-Zepeda pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday.

Authorities say on May 31, 2014, Sanchez-Zepeda had been drinking alcohol with his friend German Rodarte at a local night club in Bryan.

Around 2:30 in the morning they went to a female friend’s house in Bryan where they continued drinking beer. The three adults decided to leave the house in Sanchez-Zepeda’s four door Honda Accord.

They decided that the female would sit in the driver’s seat between Sanchez-Zepeda’s legs and operate the steering wheel, while he would operate the peddles.

The group drove onto William Joel Bryan Parkway and headed out of town via Sandy Point Road. The vehicle was going 99 mph when it left the roadway, careening into the ditch on the other side of the road and crashing through a welded pipe fence.

Emergency crews cut the group out of the vehicle and all three were rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Rodarte was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital while the other two were treated for minor injuries and released.

Rodarte was 24-years-old at the time of his death.

Sanchez-Zepeda’s blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit. He faced a possible punishment range of 2-20 years in prison with the legal possibility of probation.