A 20-year-old woman is one of four people charged in a drunk driving crash that killed a mother and her 3-month-old son in Clear Lake.
Veronica Rivas is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter after police say she slammed into 36-year-old Shayla Joseph and her 3-month-old son Braylan.
The wreck happened on Feb. 28 at the intersection of I-45 and El Dorado.
Following the crash, local media talked to Bryan Joseph, who lost his family that day.
“He was just now smiling and stuff. It was getting to the point where I could get him to smile on cue,” Bryan said of his son.
The day after the crash, on March 1, Rivas was released from jail on a $30,000 bond. A friend of Rivas’ family, Lori Bohannon, described her as “a sweet, young girl. What made her choose this, what, I don’t know.”
At the time Bohannon told Eyewitness News that Rivas and her 17-year-old passenger were so drunk, they didn’t even remember hitting another car.
Rivas faced a judge for the first time on March 2, when prosecutors said she had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit after the crash.
A judge told Rivas, who appeared to break down in tears during the court appearance, that she would not be allowed to leave her home unless she’s going to court or gets permission from the court to leave.
Her bond conditions also included wearing a GPS monitor and a device to track if she drinks any alcohol.
Rivas did not speak to the media when she was in court.
