Texas City commissioner indicted in deadly crash
Case concerns whether official was impaired as collision killed 2
Texas City Commissioner-At-Large Dee Ann Haney was indicted Thursday on manslaughter charges connected to a crash that killed a father and son last year on Interstate 45, according to the Galveston County district attorney.
A Galveston County grand jury handed up indictments on two counts of manslaughter against Haney in the July 3, 2017, crash that killed Hong Phuc Le, 33, and his father, Van Duoc Le, 58. Both charges are second degree felonies, carrying a range of punishment from probation to 2 to 20 years in prison.
Haney was also charged last year with two other counts of intoxication manslaughter in connection with the crash.
Haney and her attorney, Kevin Rekoff, did not respond to a request for comment.
At the heart of Haney’s case is whether she was driving while impaired when the two men were killed.
Haney told an investigator that she had smoked marijuana sometime before the crash, but a toxicology test came back positive only for a combination of over-thecounter and prescription medicine.
The crash happened at 12:55 a.m. on northbound I-45 near the Galveston Causeway. The two men were standing outside of a stopped black truck when Haney, driving another pickup, sideswiped them.
Among the allegations of recklessness in the indictments, Haney is alleged to have been driving on the shoulder on northbound I-45 at an unsafe speed, failing to maintain a single marked lane, failing to timely apply her brakes, and driving after consuming metaxalone (or Skelaxin, a muscle relaxer), zolpidem (a sedative most commonly used in Ambien) or pseudoephedrine (Sudafed). Metaxalone and zolpidem are prescription drugs. Doctors generally recommend that individuals who take metaxalone “be careful” while driving. Ambien and other related prescription sleeping pills carry a warning that people who take them might attempt to drive or eat while still asleep with no memory of doing so.
At the time of the incident, Haney reportedly tested negative for eight illegal drugs, including amphetamines, opiates, cocaine and THC. The toxicology tests detected amounts of pseudoephedrine and zolpidem
Haney faces re-election on Saturday against two opponents, fellow Commissioners Bruce Clawson and Phil Roberts, for the two atlarge seats.
Haney is also employed by Texas A&M University at Galveston as a lab safety and training coordinator. She remains free on her initial bond.
A court date for her trial has not yet been set.