A fatal accident occurred on Bellaire Boulevard on Thursday, February 6, close to 8:00 p.m. involving a highly intoxicated man in a Ford F-150 truck and another man on his mobility scooter.
The Ford F-150 driver, 57-year-old Carlos Lopez-Obispo, was driving at a high rate of speed on Bellaire Boulevard when he left the road. He hit several concrete pillars and the METRO bus stop prior to crashing into the man on the mobility scooter. His truck finally came to rest when he ran into the corner of a gas station sign.
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The man on the mobility scooter, later identified as 39-year-old Therron Holbert was riding his mobility scooter on the sidewalk near the crosswalk of a side street when Lopez-Obispo hit him. The man was drug by the truck during the accident.
When officers arrived and tried to speak to Lopez-Obispo, the cited that his speech was so slurred that they could not differentiate if he was speaking Spanish or if he was speaking Spanish. The man did finally admit to drinking three beers prior to getting into the truck, investigators added.
Both men were transported to an area hospital where Holbert was pronounced dead. Lopez-Obispo was being held by the hospital after being treated until he was sober enough to walk. He is currently facing intoxication manslaughter charges for the drunken driving incident that killed Holbert.
If able to make the $100,000 bond, Lopez-Obispo will be required to have the ignition interlock device installed on his car and wear an ankle GPS monitoring unit. He will also be forbidden to drink or do drugs.
Holbert is the fifth person to be killed in a DWI accident. Police stated that this accident occurred less than 24 hours after another DWI accident left three dead in its wake.
The investigation into this incident is still ongoing. Police will also have to investigate to see if Lopez-Obispo was served prior to the accident or if he had done the drinking at home. It is illegal to overserve when someone shows signs of intoxication.