State rests in trial of 23-year-old on trial for killing two people while allegedly drunk

The state rested after two days in the trial of 23-year-old Miguel Vargas trial. Vargas faces two counts pf intoxicated manslaughter and to counts of intoxicated assault for allegedly caused the crash that led to the death of two of his friends and the injury of two others on Dec. 28, 2011.

Crash survivor Nefi armendariz arrived in the courtroom Tuesday in a wheelchair. It wasn’t what he said but the injuries on his body that spoke the loudest.

Armendariz told the courtroom his long road to recovery from this wreck is still far from over even after the 40 surgeries he has had so far.

Although Armendariz said doctors told him 35 percent of his body is covered in burns he insists it feels more like half.

Witnesses on Monday described pulling Armendariz from the burning vehicle and said his body was hot to the touch and plastic from the vehicle was melting onto his skin. Armendariz was apparently passed out at the time.

Armendariz told the courtroom he and Vargas began drinking mid-afternoon on Dec. 27 and kept drinking through the evening.

He told the courtroom he believes 200 beers – collectively between him and the group of five in the car that night – were consumed.

Vargas’ blood alcohol level, taken hours after the crash, registered a .25 – .08 is the legal limit.

He told the courtroom the last thing he remembered was picking up another case of beers at a Chevron before they headed to the Cincinnati entertainment district. He said after that he lost all memory of that night and and woke up two months later in a Lubbock hospital.

Armendariz had visible scars on his face and hands and showed the jury skin grafts on his arms.

Vargas, dressed in a dark blue polo, did not react to Armendariz’s testimony.