Judge Lowers Bond from $1.2M to $7k for Migrant Truck Driver Accused of Killing 5 in Texas Crash

A migrant truck driver who was involved in a massive Texas highway crash that killed five people — including a young child and a baby — has had his $1.2 million bond slashed to a mere $7,000.

Trucking industry publication Freight Waves reported details of the horrific March 13 incident, in which 37-year-old Solomun Weldekeal-Araya was initially charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault after the 18-wheeler he was driving on Interstate 35 crashed into 16 other vehicles. 

Five victims were pronounced dead at the scene, including a couple and their two children, and 11 others suffered injuries. 

Independent journalist Sarah Fields identified the deceased family of four as Natalia Perez, Sergio López, their daughter Lylah, and baby son Diego:

While police originally believed Weldekeal-Araya to be intoxicated after he allegedly failed a field sobriety test, subsequent testing revealed that the Dallas-based trucker had no drugs or alcohol in his system. 

However, Weldekeal-Araya failed to slow for traffic in a temporary work zone for construction on the interstate, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.

“The truck that initiated the crash sequence was registered to a for-hire carrier, ZBN Transport LLC, out of Dallas, Texas,” NTSB investigator Kenny Bragg told reporters at a press conference. “In the coming days, the team will continue to document this temporary work zone, conduct a detailed mechanical inspection of the striking truck and collect further information from witnesses. We will also be looking into the truck driver’s employment history as a commercial driver, his entire driving history to include crash history and traffic violations, as well as his medical history for factors that may have influenced his driving.”

Democrat Judge Tamara Needles lowered the trucker’s bond to $7,000 from over $1 million — after his attorney filed a motion demanding his client’s immediate release or a bond reduction to just $7 — one dollar per charge, according to CBS Austin.

Prosecutors are now arguing that the intoxication charges stem from Weldekeal-Araya’s alleged sleeplessness, and possibly antidepressants. 

Fields also uncovered that the man had “previously received a violation for going 63 in a 30 mph zone,” and is an asylum seeker on a work visa who “can barely speak English”:

An affidavit obtained by Fox 7 states that Weldekeal-Araya spoke mostly Tigrinya, an East African language spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

A court docket revealed that Weldekeal-Araya was due in court just one week from the pileup for that speeding violation:

Fields noted that the migrant had only had his license for four months when the crash took place, and that he has worked for shadowy trucking LLCs that are currently under investigation by the Department of Transportation (DOT):

According to KVUE, Weldekeal-Araya’s bond agreement now requires him to refrain from driving commercial vehicles, surrender his travel documents, wear a location-tracking device for 90 days, submit to random urine tests, and check in with pretrial services. 

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.