IRVING, Texas — An Irving man accused of striking a pedestrian with his vehicle twice while driving under the influence is expected to face upgraded charges after the victim died from his injuries.
According to the arrest affidavit, the crash occurred at approximately 2:53 a.m. on Friday, June 19th, at the intersection of Cantrell Street and Cibola Drive in Irving's Espanita neighborhood, behind Irving Mall.
A witness told police they saw a black car, believed to be a Honda, run over a man twice before fleeing northbound on Cantrell Street.
The victim, identified as 31-year-old Tony July Vasquez, was transported to Parkland Hospital in critical condition with numerous broken bones, severe head and brain trauma, and extensive internal injuries. He died from those injuries on June 20th. Vasquez's facebook profile shows that he was a musician (obituary).
Investigators recovered part of a front bumper at the scene that was determined to have come from a Honda Civic.
A short time later, officers located a damaged black Honda Civic parked in the 2800 block of Lago Vista Loop, which is one street from the crash scene.
Police made contact with 36-year-old Noe Ibarra-Cedeño as he exited a nearby residence.
According to investigators, Ibarra-Cedeño immediately began making unsolicited statements, telling officers the incident "was not his fault" and that he "did not mean to hit someone."
He told investigators he had spent Thursday evening watching the Mexico-South Korea World Cup soccer match with friends, where he consumed between four and six Corona beers between approximately 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. He said he later left to drive someone to a nearby hotel.
According to police, Ibarra-Cedeño admitted he struck something while driving but initially did not know what it was. He later believed it may have been a person. He told investigators he turned around and drove back through the area but did not see anything and ran over what he believed was the same object a second time before continuing to the hotel and eventually returning home.
Officers reported that Ibarra-Cedeño had glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Standardized Field Sobriety Tests indicated additional signs of impairment, investigators said.
He later provided a preliminary breath test that measured a breath alcohol concentration of 0.103, above Texas' legal limit of 0.08. He also consented to providing a blood sample at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving.
Ibarra-Cedeño was initially arrested and charged with Collision Involving Serious Bodily Injury and Intoxication Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury.
After being transferred to the Dallas County Jail, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed an immigration detainer on him. His bond was set at $275,000, but he remains in custody due to the ICE hold and the victim's death.
The charges are expected to be upgraded to Intoxication Manslaughter following Vasquez's death.
The investigation remains ongoing and has been turned over to the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney's Office for review.
