A North Texas teen has been charged with multiple counts of intoxication manslaughter after an investigation into a collision that occurred the day after Christmas that killed a family of six.
Luke Resecker, 17, of Glen Rose was arraigned in Johnson County on several charges on Tuesday, including six counts of intoxication manslaughter, two counts of intoxication assault, and possession of marijuana.
Due to an ongoing medical condition, Resecker was not booked into Johnson County Jail. Instead, he was granted a $50,000 bond and will be monitored in home confinement.
As covered by The Dallas Express, Resecker’s 2014 Chevrolet Silverado collided head-on with a 2021 Honda Odyssey, killing six of its seven passengers. Resecker was traveling southwest on Highway 67 near County Road 1119 just south of Cleburne when he crossed over the double yellow line, a no-passing zone, striking the Odyssey head-on in the northeast-bound lane.
Resecker and his passenger, 17-year-old Preston Glass, survived the crash. Lokesh Potabathula, 43, is the only surviving passenger in the Odyssey; however, he sustained critical injuries.
Those who died were related to Potabathula: his 28-year-old cousin Rushil Barri, his 36-year-old wife Naveena, 10-year-old son Krithik, 9-year-old daughter Nishidha, 64-year-old father-in-law Nageswararao Ponnada, and 60-year-old mother-in-law Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada. The latter two were visiting from India, reported the Fort Worth Start-Telegram. The family was on their way home from an outing to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center when the crash occurred.
The stretch of motorway has been referred to as the “death highway,” as the lanes are reportedly too narrow by locals. Locals reacted to the tragic accident with renewed calls for the Texas Department of Transportation to widen it to four lanes, DX reported.
Last year, several deaths leading to charges of intoxication manslaughter were seen across the metroplex.
In August, a female driver, Kyli Phillips, 26, with two prior DWI convictions, allegedly killed a 63-year-old man as he tried to cross the street. In September, a Southern Methodist University student, Honor Elizabeth Wallace, 19, died in a collision with a suspected drunk driver, twenty-seven-year-old Lynlee Pollis. In December, Nestor Joel Lujan Flores, 31, allegedly intoxicated and driving, struck a pedestrian, gruesomely severing the victim’s body in two, as covered by DX.
In Dallas, there were 50 criminal homicides reported as of March 28, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. There were also two justifiable homicides and five negligent manslaughter reports.
The Dallas Police Department fields only around 3,000 officers despite a City report recommending closer to 4,000 to ensure public safety. City leaders also approved a budget for DPD of just $654 million this fiscal year, representing considerably lower spending on policing than other high-crime jurisdictions, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.