The suspect in a fatal collision that occurred last week in Irving has reportedly admitted to police she drove the wrong way on the interstate in a bid to end her own life.
Diamond Brown, 22, was arrested by Irving police on Tuesday on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and manslaughter. The charges stem from a crash on Interstate 635 near the President George Bush Turnpike shortly after 2:30 p.m. on November 10.
Brown allegedly drove a silver 2018 Nissan Altima eastbound in the westbound lanes at about 88 mph on the day in question, hitting another car head-on.
The vehicle Brown hit had two occupants: passenger Zainab Monsoori, who was killed, and driver Fatima El Adel, who was treated for multiple broken bones.
Investigators closed the stretch of interstate into the evening as police carried out their investigation. Robert Reeves, a spokesperson for Irving police, said that Brown “was believed to be intoxicated” at the time of the collision, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Monsoori’s brother noted in a GoFundMe set up for the family that his sister had been on her way to work when the fatal collision occurred. He called her “a beacon of resilience and familial responsibility,” lamenting the tragic end of her life, which was “filled with potential and dreams.”
Brown was still in Dallas County jail on a bond of $250,000 as of November 18, according to jail records.
In September, a suspected drunk driver allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Monticello Avenue and the North Central Expressway service road in Dallas, striking an oncoming car and killing the driver, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The deceased, Honor Elizabeth Wallace, 19, had been a student at Southern Methodist University.
Such incidents are causing a further strain on the under-staffed Dallas Police Department, which is already facing mounting rates of motor vehicle theft and murder, as extensively covered by The Dallas Express.
Last year, 1,162 deaths statewide were caused by drunk driving, accounting for more than one-quarter of all driving deaths, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation.