Paragraph 15 reads: “After the wreck, DPS trooper Otto
Cabrera wrote in an arrest affidavit that he “could smell the strong odor of
metabolized alcohol from Looschen.” Looschen told Cabrera that he’d been
drinking and had taken antidepressants as well as
hydrocodone, according to the affidavit. Hydrocodone can be used as a cough
suppressant or a pain reliever.”
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/georgetown-man-pleads-guilty-in-fatal-2009-wreck-248382.html
Georgetown man pleads guilty in fatal 2009 wreck
Luke Anthony Looschen faces up to 100 years in prison for wrong–way crash
on Texas 29.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 12:49 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010
Published: 8:54 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17,
2010
A Georgetown man pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to four counts of
intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault, admitting
guilt in causing a three-vehicle collision last summer that killed four people
and injured two others.
Luke Anthony Looschen, 48, entered his plea
before District Judge Burt Carnes in a Williamson County courtroom. A sentencing
hearing has been set for March 12 . He faces up to 100 years in
prison.
The guilty plea was not part of a plea agreement, Looschen’s
attorney Mike Davis and Williamson County Assistant District Attorney Robert
McCabe said in court.
“Mr. Looschen has acknowledged his guilt from the
get-go on this, and he felt the proper thing to do was to plead guilty,” Davis
said later.
Family members of those killed in the wreck wept in the
courtroom as Looschen entered his plea.
Looschen, who has been in the
Williamson County Jail with bail set at $600,000 since his arrest, showed no
visible emotion during the hearing.
“Did you use your truck as a deadly
weapon in this case?” McCabe asked.
“Yes, sir, I did,” Looschen
replied.
Because of that admission, Looschen must serve at least half of
the sentence he receives, and Carnes cannot sentence him to probation,
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said.
Looschen was
arrested Aug. 10 after troopers said he was driving a pickup east in a westbound
lane of Texas 29 near Jonah and collided head-on with a Jeep and a van carrying
seven people. The van slid down an embankment and struck a tree, according to a
Department of Public Safety crash report.
The driver of the Jeep was not
seriously injured, officials said.
In the van, Pete Mendez, 44, and Paula
Martinez, 38 , were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Two passengers
died later at University Medical Center Brackenridge: Crystal Martinez , the
16-year-old daughter of Paula Martinez and Clemente Martinez, the driver; and
Stephanie Valadez, 24, who was dating the couple’s son.
Valadez’s
daughter Tristan and son Jacob, who were 3 and 1, respectively, at the time of
the wreck, were treated at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple and
released.
Clemente Martinez was not seriously injured, officials
said.
After the wreck, DPS trooper Otto Cabrera wrote in an arrest
affidavit that he “could smell the strong odor of metabolized alcohol from
Looschen.” Looschen told Cabrera that he’d been drinking and had taken
antidepressants as well as hydrocodone, according to the affidavit. Hydrocodone
can be used as a cough suppressant or a pain reliever.
Blood test results
later revealed that Looschen’s blood alcohol content level was 0.16 , or twice
the legal limit of 0.08 , according to the DPS crash report. Looschen had been
in a previous one-vehicle accident on July 16 in Williamson County, which he
later discussed on his Facebook page. He said on the Web site that he had
totaled his truck and “sustained some scrapes, bruises and lacerations.” On Aug.
3, a few days before the fatal crash, he wrote on Facebook that he was getting a
replacement truck that day.
In 2006, Looschen was in a motorcycle
accident with his ex-wife, 43-year-old Shanan Looschen, in Georgetown, police
said.
Shanan Looschen was thrown from the motorcycle and died a day later
at Brackenridge, police said. Neither was wearing a helmet, police
said.
No charges were filed in either of the two earlier
wrecks.
mliscano@statesman.com;
246-1150
