A truck driver accused of causing a deadly 17-vehicle crash on I-35 in March now faces multiple second-degree felony charges, according to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Solomun Weldekeal-Araya, 37, was indicted by a Travis County grand jury with five counts of manslaughter, 15 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.
“Our hearts continue to break for the victims and their families,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in a statement. "In this case, a group of independent Travis County community members reviewed the evidence and the law and determined that there was probable cause to believe that Mr. Araya's conduct was unlawful."
The chain-reaction crash spread out over a tenth of a mile on I-35 near Parmer Lane late in the evening on March 13. Five people died in the crash, including two children, and 17 people were injured.
The 13-page indictment from a grand jury said Weldekeal-Araya “intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly” caused bodily injury to 15 people during the crash. The indictment also alleges that he drove over the speed limit, disregarded construction zone traffic signs and failed to sufficiently apply brakes.
Weldekeal-Araya was initially charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. A toxicology report later found no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, according to his attorney Bristol Myers.
In a statement, Myers said the indictments were a “desperate attempt to criminalize a tragic accident.”
“When the cops tested Solomun and he wasn’t drunk, they said he was high. When they tested his blood for drugs there was nothing there,” Myers said. “Then they wasted taxpayer money to run more and more tests, only to come up empty.”
Myers said indictments from a grand jury are not always impartial. The district attorney is not obligated to present evidence to the grand jury that may be favorable for a defendant, Myers said, and the defendant is not allowed to appear or present any evidence to rebut the case being brought against him.
The case remains under investigation.
