It turns out an 18-year-old Mesa man has been indicted on two counts of manslaughter in the hit and run deaths of two young brothers after all.
Travis Cuevas was also charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and three counts of aggravated assault for each of the surviving victims in the Jan. 9 crash that killed Frank Smith V, 11, and Nolan Smith, 6.
The grand jury indicted Cuevas Jan. 30.
According to court documents, Cuevas drank heavily before borrowing a truck from a friend at a party at his mother’s apartment.
The truck crashed into a car carrying the Smith brothers at 10 p.m. at the intersection of Sossaman and Elliot roads.
Cuevas and a 17-year-old passenger ran from the scene, but investigators with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were able to determine Cuevas was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
An investigator wrote in court documents early in the case that there was a likelihood Cuevas would avoid the homicide charges because he was able to elude deputies for five hours, making it impossible to extrapolate his blood alcohol content at the time of the crash.
Man indicted in hit and runFebruary 4th, 2009, 10:38 am · Post a Comment · posted by Gary GradoLeave a Reply |
