DENTON, TX (02/06/2016) — Eleven-year-old Lesly De Luna and 8-year-old Edgar De Luna have died following a serious rear-end car accident in Denton, Texas on Saturday night.
UPDATE 05/13/2016: Luis Bonilla, the driver who crashed into the De Luna family’s vehicle, has been arrested and booked into the City of Denton Jail on two counts of manslaughter.
Denton Police say that at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, the driver of a Ford Super Duty F-350 pickup truck (who was speeding down Highway 380) failed to stop at a red light, rear-ending the De Luna family’s Nissan minivan and causing a 4-vehicle accident.
According to reports, the De Luna family (of Whitesboro, TX) was stopped at a red light in the left lane of westbound U.S. 380 (E. University Drive) at the Mayhill Road intersection prior to the accident. 35-year-old Denton resident Luis Bonilla, the driver of a Ford F-350 which was also traveling westbound on 380, failed to stop at the intersection and plowed into into the back of the family’s minivan at a high rate of speed. The force of the impact pushed the minivan through the intersection, and caused it to then collide with a Dodge Dakota and a Kia which were stopped in the eastbound lanes of Highway 380.
Inside the minivan were two adults (in the front seats), as well as three young children. The 4-year-old and 8-year-old boys were sitting in the middle row, while the 12-year-old girl was seated in the third row.
12-year-old Lesly De Luna (or Leslie De Luna) was pronounced dead at Denton Regional Medical Center shortly after the car accident. The other two children were transported via air ambulance (CareFlite) to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas in critical condition. 8-year-old Edgar Carlos De Luna died from his injuries later that night, and 4-year-old Carlito De Luna remains in critical condition.
The two adult occupants of the minivan, as well as the driver of the F-350, were reportedly treated for minor injuries at Denton Regional Medical Center and released. The occupants of the Kia and Dodge Dakota were not injured.
“We had a lot of fatality accidents there years ago before we had a light there. It helped, but if someone runs that light, they can be really going fast,” said Denton police spokesman Shane Kizer.
According to police, no arrests have been made. It is not yet clear if the driver of the Ford F-350 will be charged.
A fund has been set up for the DeLuna family on GoFundMe.
Commentary
To those wondering why the driver has not been charged, I’m right there with you. Give police and investigators time to work through the details, as I’m sure the DPD will fully investigate and pursue any potential criminal charges in the coming days.
One has to wonder how a car accident like this occurs. Medical condition? Maybe, but doubtful seeing as though the driver was treated for minor injuries and released. Driving drunk? Police would have likely already filed intoxication manslaughter charges (unless they’re waiting on toxicology reports). Driving while distracted? Very possible… Unfortunately, we just don’t have the answers until a complete investigation has taken place.
Our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragedy, and we do hope that the person who caused the accident is held fully-accountable for their negligence.
