Burnet County crash: Driver charged has history of DWIs, court docs show

Driver charged in crash has history of DWIs

Court documents have revealed new details about the fiery crash in Burnet County that claimed the lives of five friends, and the driver charged in their deaths.

BURNET COUNTY, Texas - Court documents reveal more details about the Burnet County fiery crash that claimed the lives of five friends, and the driver charged in their deaths.

Kody Lane Talley was arrested on August 5 for the July 25 crash and booked into the Burnet County jail on five counts of second-degree felony manslaughter.

Five young women, Jackie Velazco, Desiree Cervantes, Brianna Valadez, Ruby Cruz, and Thalia Salinas, friends since middle school, died in the crash.

5 young women killed in fiery crash

A weekend meant for celebration ended in tragedy when five young women were killed in a crash in Burnet County late last month.

New details about Burnet County crash

What we know:

Court documents obtained by FOX 7 Austin provide more details on the crash.

According to an arrest affidavit for Talley, he was operating a white Dodge Ram pickup while towing a horse trailer loaded with horses, traveling north on US 281 approaching Park Road 4.

The truck crossed over the center divider and began driving north in the southbound lanes, then crashed into oncoming traffic as it entered the intersection.

The truck first hit a Chevy Malibu, then continued northbound and hit a Mercedes SUV. That impact "forced the SUV into the air where it overturned, came to rest on its right side, and caught fire," says the affidavit. All five women inside the SUV died, with one even being ejected from the vehicle.

Talley's truck then continued north in an arc across the roadway and eventually crashed into a fence. Talley was seen on body camera footage confirming he was the driver of the truck and speaking to Burnet County deputies, but he left the scene without speaking to any DPS troopers, says the affidavit.

A witness who had been driving behind the Malibu and SUV also provided dash-cam footage showing the truck driving on the wrong side of the road and striking the other two vehicles, says the affidavit.

The arrest affidavit also states the weight of the vehicle and trailer Talley was towing required a Class A driver's license, something he didn't have. His license also showed he had a restriction, requiring an ignition interlock device, but the truck didn't have one. 

What's next:

If convicted, Talley faces up to 20 years in prison. 

If it is proven he was intoxicated, his sentence could be stacked, and he could face up to a hundred years in prison.

What they're saying:

Jeremy Rosenthal, an attorney not affiliated with the case, gave some insight into the charges.

"When police first arrive on a scene, it doesn't always start out as some type of criminal investigation. A crash investigation by law has to occur, but that's one of the 80 things that's going on out there. It may have been clear or not clear to this individual that he was free to leave," he said.

"It is defined as recklessly taking another person's life," Rosenthal said. "It doesn't require intoxication, and it could be potentially speeding, it could be potentially being on your phone. It means that you're just ignoring the risks that are at hand."

Driver's criminal history in Williamson, Travis counties

Kody Talley (Burnet County Jail)

Dig deeper:

Court records reveal Talley has a history of drinking beer while driving in Williamson County.

In 2008, he was arrested for DWI in Liberty Hill. The charge was dismissed and refiled as a deadly conduct charge. He was placed on probation; it was revoked, and he was sentenced to a year in jail.  

The second DWI arrest was in 2011 in Cedar Park. He pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him. He was placed on probation, and again it was revoked. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

The third DWI was four years later again in Cedar Park. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 75 days in jail.

His record includes 21 charges in Williamson County and two in Travis County.