Man under indictment in drunken White Settlement house crash death kills himself in yard
A man accused of intoxication manslaughter in 2022 after he crashed his pickup into a White Settlement house, killing a teenager and seriously injuring her father, shot himself to death on Aug. 31, authorities said.
Donald Gruber, 65, died about 4 a.m. by suicide in his front yard. White Settlement police on Friday announced his death.
Gruber was accused of drunkenly crashing his pickup truck and trailer into a house, killing Katey Kirkland, an 18-year-old high school student who was inside, and of seriously injuring her father.
An arrest warrant was on Aug. 27 issued for Gruber after he allegedly violated conditions of his bond in the intoxication manslaughter indictment when he consumed alcohol on Aug. 9, 2024, and failed to provide breath samples for testing later in the month, according to the Tarrant County Community Supervision and Corrections Department.
Kirkland was to be a senior at Saginaw High School. Her mother, Amy Kirkland, was inside the house at the time of the crash on Aug. 7, 2022, in the 9300 block of Jason Court but was not seriously injured.
White Settlement police also arrested passenger Peggy Cox, 71, on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter in the case. A grand jury last year declined to indict her, White Settlement police said.
Toxicology reports showed both Gruber and Cox were intoxicated at the time of the crash, police said.
When investigators interviewed Cox, she told them neither she nor Gruber were intoxicated but said both were drinking, according to an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant for Cox. Toxicology reports showed Gruber had a blood alcohol level of .085, and Cox had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, both over the legal limit. Cox told investigators that Gruber had two vodka mixed drinks and she had three at a bar.
Cox told police Gruber had a coughing fit that caused him to pass out while he was driving, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. She told police Gruber slumped onto the steering wheel, and his foot pressed the gas pedal all the way down. Cox said she reached over and grabbed the steering wheel to try to control the vehicle as it accelerated.
Cox told police that Gruber previously had coughing fits that had caused him to pass out, but never while he was driving, according to the affidavit.
Law enforcement records showed that Gruber had three previous DWI convictions.
Kevin Kirkland, Katey Kirkland’s father, and Amy Kirkland filed a lawsuit against Gruber, Cox, The Point on Lake Worth and the businesses, Wildcat Canyon LLC and Woods Inlet LLC, that operate the restaurant, which the Kirklands accused of overserving Gruber and Cox.
The lawsuit was settled and dismissed in April.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 3:01 PM.
