Dee Ann Haney found guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide in 2017 fatal crash • Former Texas City Commissioner faces up to 10 years in prison After 6 1/2 years, a manslaughter trial involving former Texas City Commissioner Dee Ann Haney finally came to a close with a guilty verdict, just after 12 PM, Friday (2/16/2024). Haney found guilty on two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide in a 2017 crash killing two near the Galveston Causeway. A jury of 6 men and 6 women decided Haney’s fate, with Judge Leslie Brock Yates presiding. Haney was charged, in connection to a fatal crash killing a father and son on a connector road to the northbound Galveston Causeway. The two men, Van Duoc Le, 58, and his son Hong Phuc Le, 33, were both killed. The jury deliberated for 6 1/2 hours, starting at 2:20 PM, Thursday (2/15/2024), and returned Friday to finalize their decision at around noon. Friday marked the 10th day of trial. While calling the move unusual on her part, Judge Yates granted Haney a personal bond that will allow her to remain out of jail until after the punishment phase of the case. The crash happened on July 3, 2017, late into the night. The two men were pulled over onto the shoulder with a relative, Tommy Nguyen, to adjust some plexiglass in the back of their truck. While pulled over, Haney hit and killed both Duoc and Hong Le. One of the big questions during this trial was that if Hong Le was on the fog line and in the lane of traffic. Another was that if Haney stayed in her lane or drifted off and onto the shoulder where the men were. After reviewing more than 200 pieces of evidence and listening to more than a dozen testimonies, the jury finally came to a decision. Haney now awaits her punishment, which will be decided by a jury, and sometime next week. Haney now faces 2 years to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine because, in addition to finding her guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide, the jury also said her truck was a deadly weapon. While Criminally Negligent Homicide carries a 180-day up to 2 years in prison, the deadly weapon verdict enhances the possible sentencing. The jury may also decide to give Haney probation. During Fourth of July weekend, Haney said she started her day at church and ran into a friend, Throughout the day, she went to Topwater Grill, had a drink, watched the Astros with her friend and then planned to go to bed, when all of a sudden she was called by Texas A&M Galveston Police about water in some of the labs. Haney went down to the campus and when finished, headed back north. While heading north, she crashed into two men, a father and son, on a connector road to the northbound Galveston Causeway. Haney was questioned by police, did a series of sobriety tests on both the causeway and in the sally port at the Galveston County Jail, and then was ultimately booked. Haney was initially charged with intoxicated manslaughter after telling investigators she had smoked marijuana several hours before the crash. Blood tests, however, never detected any significant amounts of THC in Haney’s system. Eventually, a grand jury indicted Haney on the two charges of manslaughter. The trial was postponed, canceled, and rescheduled multiple times in the 6 1/2 years since the fatal crash. Delays in evidence testing, the COVID-19 pandemic, a fire at the Justice Administration Center, case backup across the county’s justice system because of COVID and the fire, and an emergency medical issue with a prosecutor last year that was supposed to delay the trial for only a day but instead forced a reset to February 2024. During the trial, prosecutors brought up that Haney had Zolpidem, Metaxalone and Pseudoephedrine in her system. The amount wasn’t discussed, as it could have been in her system for 24-36 hours. The trial ended with Haney being charged with two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide by a jury. She will now await punishment. The jury will return Wednesday (2/21/2024) at 9:30 AM to start the punishment phase.

Posted by i45NOW Joey at 2024-02-16 18:23:02 UTC