On today’s date (11-01-20), at approximately 2:15am, the New Braunfels Police Department and the New Braunfels Fire Department were called to the 2500 block of Hwy 46 South at Center Street for a major motor vehicle crash.
Officers arrived and found that two vehicles, a white Dodge pickup truck and a blue Kia Optima, had been involved in a head on collision. Based on the preliminary investigation, the Dodge pickup truck was traveling northbound towards New Braunfels when it veered into the southbound lanes of traffic and struck the Kia head on, causing the truck to rollover onto its side. All of Hwy 46 South in that area was immediately closed due to the accident and the considerable amount of debris from the crash.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 33-year old male from New Braunfels, and his 6-year old daughter, suffered minor injuries in the crash and were medically cleared by EMS at the scene. The driver of the Kia Optima, a 25-year old male from Seguin, suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and was transported by EMS to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) in stable condition. The female passenger of the Kia was pronounced deceased at the scene. She has since been identified as a 28-year old Sevannah Shay Mata from Olmos, Texas. Next of kin has been notified and Pct. 3 Guadalupe County Justice of the Peace John Terry has ordered an autopsy.
NBPD officers investigating the crash noted that the driver of the pickup truck showed signs of intoxication and so Standard Field Sobriety Tests were conducted. 33-year old Jacob Perez of New Braunfels was then taken into custody and transported to a nearby hospital for a voluntary blood draw. He was then taken to the Guadalupe County Jail where he was charged with Intoxication Manslaughter.
The NBPD Traffic Unit and the NBPD Criminal Investigations Division were called to the scene to investigate the crash and to conduct a full accident reconstruction investigation. State Hwy 46 South in that area was closed for approximately 4½ hours while that investigation took place and so that crews could clear the scene.