Man gets 60 years in prison in collision that killed woman
A San Antonio man with a lengthy criminal record has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being found guilty of intoxication manslaughter.
A jury found Christopher Luis Del Toro, 42, guilty of killing Jessica Brill and injuring one of her daughters in a headon crash on the South Side on March 27, 2022.
Brill, 44, was driving a silver Buick around midnight when Del Toro, who was speeding, veered into her lane in the 6600 block of South Flores near East Dixon Avenue, according to police reports.
Jurors watching surveillance video from a nearby business saw Del Toro’s gray Chevy Trailblazer smash head-on into the Buick. The collision threw Brill out of the Buick. She died at the scene.
One of her daughters was a passenger riding in the front seat. She was taken to University Hospital and treated for her injuries.
Del Toro, whose bloodalcohol content was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, had to be cut from his vehicle. He was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
“Driving while intoxicated endangers innocent lives,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said in a statement released Friday. “Jessica Brill was in the car with her daughter when they were struck by Luis Del Toro’s automobile. Little did they know those would be their last moments together.”
Intoxication assault is normally a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. But because of his lengthy criminal record and a prior conviction on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, Del Toro was classified as a repeat offender. That classification meant he was facing a first-degree felony, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison.
He was sentenced to 60 years by visiting Senior District Judge Raymond Angelini. Del Toro will have to serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Bexar County assistant district attorneys Raul Jordan and Willem Vanzeben prosecuted the case while Del Toro was represented by defense attorneys Daniel De La Garza and David L. Mcclane.