HOUSTON — A man charged with intoxication manslaughter in a deadly weekend crash in northwest Houston faced a judge on Tuesday while the family of a little girl faces Christmas without her.
A Harris County judge set bond for Joel Gonzalez Chacin, 41, at $150,000.
Relatives of 7-year-old Ivory Smith packed the courtroom for Chacin's bond hearing. They're still trying to process the unimaginable grief of losing the little girl who was such a bright light.
“She is the light of everybody, the center of everybody’s life,” Ivory's aunt, Sharonda Collins, told us. “She was just full of life, a lot of personality.”
According to Precinct 4, Chacin was drunk when he ran a red light on Bammel North Houston Road near Sam Houston Parkway around 2 a.m. on Sunday, December 1. They say he slammed into a car killing Ivory and critically injuring her mother.
Collins said her sister underwent surgery yesterday but the emotional wounds will never heal.
“She’s not good, she lost her only child. She’s never gonna be good anymore. Her life has changed, our lives have changed, our kids’ lives have changed."
Precinct 4 investigators said Chacin "displayed multiple signs of intoxication" at the scene. They said instead of trying to help the victims, Chacin got out of his car and started taking photos of the scene.
"We're definitely worried he could flee. He has no conscience because he got out and he didn't assist," Collins said.
The victims' family members want tougher punishment for deadly DWI crimes.
"It's always the person that's drinking and driving that gets to walk away and then the families are left with, you know, with this so definitely the laws need to change," Collins said. “With every breath in my body, I’m going to fight to get those laws changed for Ivory,”
The victim's family has started a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral and medical expenses.
If Chacin does post bond, he will be turned over to Immigration Custody Enforcement (ICE). Authorities say he's on an ICE hold because he is not a U.S. citizen.
If convicted, Chacin could face anywhere from two to 20 years in prison.
