ME’s Office identifies woman killed in fiery wrong-way crash with suspected drunken driver

58-year-old man faces two counts of intoxication manslaughter after crash on Walzem Road at I-35

SAN ANTONIOUpdate:

The Bexar County Medical Examiner has identified one of the women killed in a fiery wrong-way crash with a suspected drunken driver early Saturday.

Daniela Lute, 25, died from multiple blunt force injuries she sustained from the crash, according to the ME.

The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. on the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 at Walzem Road when a suspected drunken driver hit a Nissan Rogue.

Lute was in the Nissan and died, along with another woman. Her identity has not yet been released.

The suspected drunken driver is facing two counts of intoxication manslaughter.

Original:

Two women in their 20s died and a man was hospitalized early Saturday morning following a fiery wrong-way crash with a suspected drunken driver.

The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. on the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 at Walzem Road. San Antonio police said they had received several 911 calls for a pickup truck driving the wrong-way on Interstate 37.

SAPD’s Eagle helicopter tracked down the vehicle and started to follow the driver, and other officers on the ground attempted to get the driver to stop as it was reported to be traveling 90 miles per hour on the highway.

Police said the truck, a Ford F350 dually, then slammed into a Nissan Rogue on the Interstate 35 main lanes between Eisenhauer and Walzem roads.

SAPD officers responded to the accident and upon arrival, officers found the truck upside down and on fire. An officer pulled the driver from the burning vehicle while other officers responded to the victims in the Rogue. Police said the driver and a passenger in the Rogue were both killed and died on impact.

Both women were in their mid-20s, one 25 years old and the other 27 years old. Their names have not been released. The pickup truck driver was transported to SAMMC for further treatment and now faces two counts of intoxication manslaughter, SAPD officials said.

Police said the man is 58 years old, but have not released his name. An officer received treatment on scene from firefighters due to smoke inhalation. Interstate 35 southbound at the Walzem exit was shut down for hours while officials investigated the crash.


About the Authors:

RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports. RJ started at KSAT in 2010. He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great.

Jonathan Cotto is a reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio. He’s a bilingual award-winning news reporter and he joined KSAT in 2021. Before coming to San Antonio, Cotto was reporting along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. He’s a veteran of the United States Navy.