Suspected drunk driver released on bond. He’s charged with killing 5 in Fort Worth crash
The suspected drunken driver charged with killing five people in a fiery crash on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth last week has been released on bond, according to court records.
Eduardo Gonzalez, 19, paid a portion of his $750,000 bond to a bail bond agency to secure his release on Friday, Tarrant County court records show.
Conditions of Gonzalez’s bond require him to wear a SCRAM ankle monitor that tests for alcohol, submit urine samples, and have a camera-equipped ignition interlock device installed on any vehicle he operates. The Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department must verify installation of the ignition interlock device and monitor its use, court documents state.
Fort Worth police have said that Gonzalez was driving a Chevy Camaro northbound on I-35W on Aug. 19 when he rear-ended a sedan near the East Seminary Drive exit. The car he hit caught fire, killing everyone inside, authorities said. Police have said Gonzalez had alcohol containers in his car and showed signs of intoxication. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identity of one of the victims as 48-year-old Willie Gunn, of Fort Worth. Formal identification of the other victims through DNA tests could take weeks or months, but family members identified them as Gunn’s girlfriend, Amber Hopewell, and Hopewell’s three children, ages 2, 4 and 9.
The criminal complaint that charges Gonzalez with five counts of intoxication manslaughter also identifies Gunn and Hopewell among the victims and lists the children’s names as Elijah Caroll, Chrystale Cobbin and Amiyah Fisher. Amiyah was 2 years old, according to a GoFundMe account started by her father to raise money for funeral expenses.
“We are all devastated by the loss of Amiyah Lashae Rose Fisher and were not prepared for the high cost of a funeral service,” the toddler’s father, Eddie Fisher, wrote in the GoFundMe description. “We want to give Amiyah the memorial she deserves, to honor her beautiful memory and say our last goodbyes.”
Members of Gunn’s family have said they want to know more about how the crash happened, including how the underage driver was able to obtain alcohol.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 12:58 PM.
