- Luis Fernando Torres
PA man indicted for crash that killed officer
Luis Fernando Torres has been indicted in the fatal drunk driving crash that killed a Beaumont police officer and injured another officer.
Torres, 18, reportedly struck a Beaumont Police Department patrol unit head-on Aug. 9, killing the passenger, 23-year-old Officer Sheena Yarbrough, and injuring the driver, 28-year-old Officer Gabriel Fells, following a night of heavy drinking.
Yarbrough was pronounced deceased at the scene and Fells was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital with serious bodily injury, according to the affidavit for arrest.
Police contend Torres, of Port Arthur, was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of U.S. 69 and caused the collision. Hospital results showed his blood alcohol content to be 296 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
Additionally, the warrant states information about his activities leading to the collision were found on several different media platforms and he reportedly admitted to consuming alcohol.
The fatal creasg led the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to launch investigations into two locations Torres may have obtained alcohol.
A Jefferson County grand jury handed down the indictments for intoxication manslaughter-cause death of peace officer and intoxication assault of a peace officer earlier this week.
An indictment is not a final conviction of guilt; it is only a ruling by the grand jury that allows the district attorney’s office to proceed with a criminal case.
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