In a trial that concluded Thursday afternoon in Weatherford, a Parker County jury gave a 32-year-old man who pled guilty to intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault offenses maximum prison sentences of 20 and 10 years.
Juan Antonio Sauceda, Jr, of Donna, Texas, entered a guilty plea to both felony charges on Monday and elected to have a jury assess his punishment. The case stemmed from a collision on Interstate 20 westbound on December 17, 2019, in an area where traffic came to a near standstill due to nighttime construction.
Trial testimony showed that Sauceda had been drinking beer in Fort Worth and was headed to a hotel in Weatherford. A sample of his blood that was taken after the accident showed that his blood alcohol concentration was 0.122. The legal limit for driving in Texas is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08.
“This was a tragic case that resulted in the death of Kevin Ferreiro and serious injuries to his mother, Patricia Ferreiro, both of whom were in the first vehicle that Mr. Sauceda struck,” said District Attorney Jeff Swain. He was in a Ford F-350 going 75 mph before he hit the brakes a fraction of a second before impact.”
“As we enter the holiday season, this case offers us a perfect example of how lives can be tragically ended or ruined because of the decision to drive after drinking too much,” Swain said. If only he would have gotten an Uber, called a sober driver, or just stayed where he was, Kevin would still be with us, his two children would still have a father, and Mr. Sauceda would not be heading to prison. It’s just so sad and unnecessary.”
According to trial testimony, the Ferreiros were on the way home after enjoying a family Christmas outing to the Polar Express train in Grapevine. As they approached the I-20 exit for FM 1187 in Aledo, traffic slowed dramatically because of construction.
During his testimony, Sauceda indicated that he had no criminal history. At the time of the crash, he was in Weatherford for orientation for a new job. Previously, he had served in the United States Navy for four years. He said that he was married and had three young children.
The range of punishment available to the jury was either probation or a prison sentence of between two and 20 years, for the intoxication manslaughter case, and 10 years, for the intoxication assault case.
During closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Abby Placke, who tried the case for the prosecution along with Assistant District Attorney Al Charanza, asked jurors what they would be doing next week. I bet you will be sitting down for Thanksgiving with your family. There will forever be an empty seat at the Ferreiro dinner table.”
Charanza asked jurors, “What if your life stopped at the age of 23? What have you done since that time?” Ferreiro was 23-years-old when he was killed in the collision with Sauceda.
According to her testimony, since the crash, Patricia Ferreiro has suffered from permanent double vision in one eye.
After it was hit, the Ferreiro’s vehicle was pushed into another vehicle. The driver of that vehicle testified that she continues to suffer from debilitating headaches and short term memory loss since the accident.
In addition to assessing a maximum prison sentence for both cases, jurors also found that Ferreiro’s pickup was a deadly weapon in the manner that he drove it that evening.
“The deadly weapon finding was important because it guarantees that Mr. Saucedo cannot be paroled until he serves at least half of his sentence,” Swain said.
“For a variety of reasons, this was a very difficult case to get to trial,” Placke said. First we had COVID and we couldn’t try any cases for over a year. Then, Mr. Saucedo’s first attorney had numerous medical complications and ultimately passed away, all of which resulted in numerous delays. Finally, the attorneys that took over that lawyer’s cases inherited quite a volume of cases and it took a while for them to get up to speed and for us to get a trial date. We are happy to finally be able to get justice for Kevin, Patricia, and their family.”
The trial occurred in the 415th District Court, Judge Graham Quisenberry presiding.
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