CLEAR LAKE, TX (02/28/2018) — Police have arrested a 20-year-old woman on two counts of intoxication manslaughter following a car accident early Wednesday morning that killed a 36-year-old woman and her newborn baby.
According to reports, 36-year-old Shayla Joseph and 3-month-old Braylan Jabari Joseph were killed in a violent car crash that occurred on the southbound Gulf Freeway feeder road of Interstate 45 (near El Dorado Boulevard) in the Clear Lake community of Greater Houston.
Police report that at around 4:00 a.m., the driver of a white Lincoln SUV slammed into the rear of a dark purple Toyota sedan driven by Joseph. Police say the child was restrained in a car seat, but both victims were tragically pronounced deceased at the scene. One witness claims that the driver of the Lincoln, identified as 20-year-old Veronica Rivas, loudly proclaimed she had just come from a bar and didn’t even seem to realize that she had hit the Toyota.
Rivas and her 17-year-old female passenger were taken to the hospital for treatment, and later that day, Rivas was charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter. Her bond was set at $30,000, and her first appearance in court is set for today.
Shayla Joseph’s husband says she normally works the night shift, and believes she was most-likely on her way to grab breakfast for the family at the time of the crash. Joseph was employed at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, but was currently on maternity leave.
This accident is currently under investigation, and we will update this story as more information is released.
