Former North Texas Police Officer Sent To Prison For Fatal Wreck
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
WICHITA FALLS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A former North Texas police officer has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of causing a 2011 patrol car wreck that left two cousins and an unborn child dead.
Ex-Wichita Falls police Officer Teddie Whitefield was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted on three counts of manslaughter. He had faced up to 20 years.
A Wichita Falls judge earlier Tuesday had found Whitefield guilty in the crash that killed 18-year-old driver Yeni Lopez, her unborn child and 13-year-old Gloria Montoya.
Prosecutors said Whitefield's car was traveling at least 75 mph and had prescription drugs in his system when his squad car collided with the other vehicle. He was not dispatched on a call and a Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDOT) report says Officer Whitefield took no evasive action to prevent crashing into the teens who had stopped at a stop sign.
Wichita Falls in 2012 approved a $500,000 settlement with families of the victims.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
