Self-Admitted DUI Driver Appears In Court
A man who admitted to taking five shots of liquor before getting into a deadly wrong-way crash in 2019 had his appearance in court today. WFAA reported on the matter.
The man, Chaz Halston Thames, appeared for a bond hearing according to officials. Police records state that Thames was driving the wrong direction on Dallas North Tollway in October 2019 and struck a car head-on, killing a father of five who had just started his own business.
At the scene, police found the deceased victim and Thames’ car on fire. An officer used his baton to break through the sunroof of the vehicle and pull out Thames. After he was at the hospital, police say that Thames admitted to drinking five shots of liquor and that he thought he was on I-30 West at the time of the crash. Thames also failed a sobriety test at the hospital.
Thames is facing murder charges after it became clear he had three previous DWI convictions from 2011 to 2016. The report did not say when his trial would happen.
We know that the family of a deceased victim can never fully move on, but we hope that this case will give the family closure. It’s another grim reminder about the dangers of drinking and driving. Alcohol is all too common in wrong-way crashes.
