TYLER, Texas — A Chandler man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with a December wreck that killed a Tyler man.
Daniel Juarez, 39, was booked into the Smith County Jail Thursday on a $500,000 bond following an arrest by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, according to jail records.
The charge stems from the death of Dennis Criner, 54.
DPS said a preliminary crash report indicates Criner was driving an SUV east on State Highway 64 West while Juarez was driving west in a towncar on the same roadway about five miles west of Tyler.
According to officials, Juarez was traveling at an unsafe speed, lost control on the wet roadway and crossed into the eastbound lane where it was struck by Criner's SUV.
Criner was pronounced dead at the scene and Juarez was taken to a local hospital in serious condition at the time, DPS said.
If a person is found guilty of intoxication manslaughter, which is a second-degree felony, they could face two to 20 years in prison and a fine that does not exceed $10,000, according to the Texas Penal Code.
