Prosecutors allege driver more than three times DWI limit

The intoxicated manslaughter trial for 34 year old Hector Tellez began Monday in El Paso’s 384th district court.

Tellez is accused of causing the deaths of 16 yr olds, Jonathan Cervoni and Aaron Carrillo on July 8th of 2011 when he smashed into their disabled car on the shoulder of Loop 375. Cervoni and Carrillo were part of a group of teens attempting to jump start a car when they were hit by Tellez’s vehicle.

Prosecutors say Tellez was talking on his phone at the time of the crash, and had a .29 blood alcohol level several hours after the crash. He has pleaded not guilty.

Witness Evadne Atkinson, a registered nurse, testified that Tellez seemed oblivious to what had happened after the crash, and was wandering around asking what happened to his cell phone.

Atkinson said she then ran to the cars to look after the occupants. She noticed Mark Dobbs sitting behind the steering wheel of his Sentra looking dazed, while his friend Jon Cervoni sat crushed between his seat and the dashboard, unconscious and barely breathing.

She told jurors she helped get Dobbs out of the car and laid him down on the ground, while firefighters struggled to free Cervoni for about 15 minutes. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The other victim, Aaron Carrillo, was outside the car when the crash happened. A police officer testified he flew 79 feet from the point of impact and struck his head. Among the photographs introduced into evidence was one showing a 30-pack of beer outside Tellez’s pickup truck, which rolled after the crash.

Testimony continued Monday afternoon.