Family of North TX woman killed in crash by alleged drunk driver will sue trucking company
The family of a woman who was killed in a Sept. 19 crash with an accused drunken driver spoke out for the first time this week and said they plan to file a lawsuit.
The victim, 41-year old Amanda Wright, was driving home from a Slipknot concert in Dallas when an intoxicated man driving a semi-truck hit her vehicle on West Loop 820 in Fort Worth, police said.
Wright was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to an incident report, the driver of the semi, 24-year old Guadalupe Velazquez Cruz, said he had consumed alcohol prior to the accident and he had “swayed, unsteady balance” and bloodshot eyes.
Velazquez Cruz was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
“You took a beautiful woman from our family and left her daughters motherless and (she was) a sister and an aunt to nieces and nephews that loved her dearly,” Wright’s sister Sarah said Thursday at a press conference alongside their attorney, WFAA-TV reported.
According to an online obituary for Wright, she leaves behind two daughters, aged 19 and 8. Wright graduated from Brewer High School in 2001, attended Tarrant County College and worked in retail management, according to the obituary.
The family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit against EGA Trucking, the company responsible for the semi and driver, according to their attorney with Branch & Dhillon Law Firm said.
“I can’t even fathom that so many people think they can drink and drive, but this was just a bad example of you can’t,” Wright’s mother, Lou, said, according to WFAA.
According to the family’s lawyer, Velazquez Cruz is on an immigration hold and will not be released from jail during the investigation.
