Driver who killed 3 in 2019 Arlington crash gets 6 years for intoxication manslaughter
A Farmers Branch man was sentenced on Wednesday to six years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of intoxication manslaughter last month in connection with a 2019 crash in Arlington in which a married couple and their daughter died.
Jose Angel Castro, 33, was booked into the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth on Wednesday after his sentencing hearing in 371st District Court in Tarrant County.
Judge Ryan Hill said that he would follow the terms of a plea agreement in which the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office recommended that Castro be sentenced to six years.
Patrick Beck, 55, Janet Beck, 48, and Leah Beck, 23, died as a result of the crash.
From Interstate 20, Leah Beck reported car trouble to her parents late on June 6, 2019, her relatives said in an interview with the Star-Telegram.
The Becks, who lived in Grand Prairie, drove to Leah’s location on the outside shoulder. They pulled in behind her vehicle, intending to do what they could to help.
A drunken Castro was driving east on I-20. He drifted from the road and hit one of the vehicles stopped on the shoulder, which caused it to strike the other stopped vehicle, Arlington police said. Two of the victims were outside their vehicles; another sat inside.
The Beck’s vehicles and Castro’s vehicle ignited in flames.
Patrick Beck and Janet Beck died at the scene. Leah Beck died the next day at Medical City Arlington Hospital.
Patrick and Janet were retired from the Army. Leah, a 2015 graduate of South Grand Prairie High School, worked at a warehouse and held plans of college and a career in cosmetology.
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 9:59 AM.
