SAN ANTONIO – Kaleb Fajardo's blood alcohol level and the speed at which he was driving were well above the legal limit when he crashed his pickup truck into a minivan, critically injuring the driver, according to trial testimony.
Detective John Doyle, of the San Antonio Police Department, who is an accident reconstruction expert, testified Friday that Fajardo was driving 79 mph in a 30 mph speed zone 1.5 seconds before the crash in the 200 block of Rector Street behind North Star Mall on the night of Feb. 26, 2016.
"There more than likely would've never even been a collision at all if he'd been traveling the speed limit," Doyle testified.
Prosecutors also revealed that Fajardo's blood-alcohol level was 0.19, which is more than double the legal limit.
"I think intoxication is why the speed was there," Doyle testified. "I think it was a judgment issue."
Doyle said that judgment was also a factor in the decision by Sylvana Sandoval, the driver of the minivan, to exit a parking lot onto Rector Street.
"When you see someone a far distance down the road, and there's a speed limit of 30, you assume they're going 30, and you feel like you have plenty of time to pull out," Doyle testified.
Sandoval died two days after the crash.
Fajardo's lawyer suggested that Sandoval pulled onto Rector Street fast, without looking for oncoming traffic.
If Fajardo is convicted of intoxication manslaughter, he may face a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.
Testimony will continue Monday before state District Judge Laura Parker in Felony Impact Court.