A Texas woman has been accused of intoxication manslaughter after a single-vehicle wreck that left two children dead and three people injured.
29-year-old Iliana Esther Ayala was booked into the Rusk County Jail on February 25 on four charges related to alleged drunk driving. The crash for which she is accused took place on May 21, 2022.
A TxDOT report states that Ayala was driving east on SH-64 in a black Nissan Rogue at about 7:45 p.m. with three children and one adult as passengers. Her vehicle ran off the road near CR 421 in Henderson and continued through the grass until it hit a culvert and flipped end over end, the report said. It came to rest in the grass south of the roadway on the passenger side, facing west.
Two of the children flew out of the vehicle during the crash; neither were wearing seat belts, TxDOT indicates. One of those ejected, 5-year-old Lylia Aveldano, was taken to Christus in Tyler but died the same night. The other, 7-year-old Leilany Aveldano, was taken to Christus with incapacitating injuries and survived.
A third child, 3-year-old Victor Aveldano, was reportedly in a child’s booster seat. He was rushed to UT Health Henderson but died of his injuries on May 27.
Ayala and the adult passenger, 25-year-old Edna Yanet Garcia, were both taken to hospitals with incapacitating injuries, the report claims.
Ayala’s medical record and a biological specimen were later subpoenaed and obtained, showing that she had a BAC of 0.128% on the night of the accident, according to the report. TxDOT considers a driver intoxicated when BAC reaches 0.08%. The report also lists speeding as a factor contributing to the crash.
Ayala faces two charges of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and two charges of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury. Her bond has been set at $220,000, for the four charges collectively.
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