Suspected drunken driver held in Fort Worth crash that killed 2 adults, 3 kids on I-35W
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Aug. 22 after family members identified the victims.
A drunken 19-year-old man early Monday killed five people when he slammed the sports car he was driving into the victims’ sedan on Interstate 35W in south Fort Worth, authorities said.
A Chevrolet Camaro northbound about midnight on I-35W rear-ended a sedan near the East Seminary Drive exit, causing the sedan to catch fire, Fort Worth police said.
Two of the victims were adults, and three were children, according to family members who identified them as Willie Gunn, his girlfriend Amber Hopewell, and Hopewell’s children. There were no survivors in the car.
The driver of the Camaro, Eduardo Gonzalez, of Fort Worth, was arrested on suspicion of five counts of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending, police said.
Gonzalez suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital and then to jail, a police spokesperson said. The MedStar spokesperson said the driver’s injuries are minor.
Northbound I-35W from Loop 820 to East Seminary Drive was closed for several hours, police said. Westbound Loop 820 and eastbound to northbound I-35W were also shut down after the crash. The service roads were open.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, all lanes of I-35W reopened to traffic about 5:30 a.m.
The crash happened about four miles north of where police said another drunken driver struck and killed Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph on the morning of Aug. 12. De Aujalae Evans, 25, was arrested in connection with Randolph’s death. Police said Evans drove the wrong way up an exit ramp at I-35W and Sycamore School Road. The freeway had been shut down while officers worked at the scene of an 18-wheeler accident.
In the same area where Sgt. Randolph was killed, a Fort Worth police vehicle was hit early Sunday by another 19-year-old who is accused of driving while intoxicated, authorities said. No officers were injured in that incident.
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 7:41 AM.
