Lynn County, TX — A 44-year-old man has been arrested and charged after authorities said he was driving the wrong way in a crash that killed a 17-year-old O’Donnell teen and injured three others earlier this month.
Gilberto Torres was arrested Friday, Aug. 28, and charged with one count of intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault.
The charges stem from an Aug. 15 crash at U.S. Highway 380 and County Road HH in Lynn County. Texas Department of Public Safety investigators said Torres was driving a Nissan Rogue on the wrong side of the highway shortly before 10 p.m. when it collided with a westbound Ford Escape in the westbound lane.
Four people were inside the Ford. A 17-year-old passenger from O’Donnell died at the scene.
The driver, identified as 18-year-old Brylee Renteria of O’Donnell, and two teenage passengers from Lamesa were transported to University Medical Center in Lubbock. Their conditions were not provided.
Torres was also transported to UMC following the crash.
According to the report, Torres was being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center on an unrelated charge out of Montgomery County when DPS took him into custody Friday and transferred him to the Lynn County Jail on the new charges.
O’Donnell ISD previously acknowledged the loss of the student, saying the school community was grieving alongside those who knew and loved the teen.
Torres is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.