Mayra Ospina Declared Brain Dead After Being Hit By Intoxicated Driver

Early Monday morning, January 27, three vehicles stopped to help a gray Nissan that had been in an accident, however, the driver was not in the car. The disabled vehicle was located on the 5100 block of Barker Cypress in Harris County. As the people were trying to help, a blue Toyota pick-up truck came along and crashed into the cars and the people who were standing outside of them.

The blue Toyota pick-up truck was being driven by 26-year-old Zachary Castro. It was determined that Castro was under the influence of alcohol after his confession to having drinks earlier in the evening.

The preliminary charges against Castro were three counts of Intoxication Assault. Three out of the four bystanders of the accident had sustained serious injuries. 

The charge has been upgraded since Castro’s preliminary hearing. The 23-year-old victim, Mayra Ospina has been declared brain dead as a result of the accident. Castro is now facing Intoxication Manslaughter charges.

Cameron Neff was one of the people who stopped thinking they were going to help an accident victim. Neff recounted the images of seeing Castro’s blue pick-up truck coming directly toward him and his van. Neff is also a witness of the other three victims getting injured.

Castro’s Intoxication Assault charges are considered third-degree felonies in the state of Texas. The penalty for a conviction is prison time ranging from two years to ten years and a fine of $10,000. Driver’s license suspension for 90 days to a year is also a consequence. At the court’s discretion, additional terms could be added to the conviction.  

• Up to 1,000 hours of community service
• Ignition interlock device installed on a vehicle
• Drug and alcohol education program
• Court costs and fees on top of the already established fines

Because of Mayra’s brain death, Castro is now facing an Intoxication Manslaughter charge which is a second-degree felony offense. The prison time for this could range from two to 20 years. The fines are the same and so are the other court discretionary penalties.