Grand Jury indicts man involved in crash that killed teen couple, unborn child

A grand jury has indicted the 22-year-old man involved in a crash that resulted in the death of two teenagers and their unborn child.

The crash happened Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 8:40 pm on the 8700 block of Diana.

Police announced Tuesday a grand jury indicted 22-year old Mario Gonzalo Lopez on three counts of Manslaughter. Lopez was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on bonds totaling $600,000, police said.

At the time of the crash, police arrested Lopez because he had outstanding warrants, but never charged him in connection with the crash.

An investigation by the police department’s Special Traffic Investigations Unit revealed Lopez was driving a blue 2016 Ford Focus north on Diana.

At the same time, the driver of a blue 2014 Chevrolet Spark was heading east on Guadalupe. Investigators determined the driver of the Spark, 15-year-old Natalie Torres, failed to yield the right of way when entering the intersection of Guadalupe and Diana.

As a result, police said, Lopez’s vehicle struck the Spark. Torres, her unborn child, and her boyfriend, 16-year-old Max Perez, died.

A police spokesman told ABC-7 a Grand Jury indicted Lopez because it determined Lopez speeding at the time he crashed into the couple. The spokesman said he could not say how fast Lopez was driving or what the posted speed limit along that stretch of road was at the time of the crash.

ABC-7 obtained the indictment from the District Attorney’s Office. It also fails to specify how fast Lopez was driving. The document merely states Lopez was “failing to keep a proper lookout for other motor vehicles, failing to to maintain control of motor vehicle, failing to control speed, failing to use due care in operating motor vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle at an excessive speed.”