Wrong-Way Driver Causes Fatal Fort Worth Wreck
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A suspected drunken driver was charged with manslaughter and endangering her six-month-old child after causing a fatal wrong-way crash Saturday, a Fort Worth Police spokesman said.
Brittany Burton, 25, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 35W at about 11:30 p.m. A driver in a silver Honda Civic saw Burton's white Jeep Liberty coming at him then swerved to the inside shoulder to avoid hitting the Jeep.
Another driver in a black Ford then slammed into the rear of the Honda, causing "severe damage to the back of the vehicle," FWPD spokesman Pedro Criado said.
The two exited their vehicles to look at the damage when another driver in a white 2006 Ford work van saw Burton driving the wrong way, but not the two cars involved in the accident. The work van then hit the two vehicles on the shoulder of the road.
The person driving the Honda Civic jumped over the Jersey barrier and was not injured, Criado said. The other person in the accident was struck by the work van and died from his injuries.
A police officer responded to the initial accident while another chased Burton down and arrested her in the 2300 block of Interstate 35W, Criado said.
Burton has been charged with intoxication manslaughter and endangering a child. Criado said her six-month-old daughter was in the Jeep during the incident.
She remains in the Mansfield Detention Facility on a $200,000 bond.
