East Texas mother gets 15 years in prison for driving drunk, injuring 3 children in car

   

The impact the car made against the tree caused the engine to be thrown from the vehicle and into the ditch on the opposite side of the road.

GILMER, Texas — An East Texas mother was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to driving drunk in March and causing severe injuries to three children in the car. 

Breanna Rena Simmons, 32, entered a guilty plea to three counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle with a deadly weapon/ driving while intoxicated with a child passenger. She received five-year sentences for each count for a total of 15 years, according to the Upshur County District Attorney’s Office. 

The conviction stems from a March 29 crash in which Simmons was traveling on Turkey Road in Upshur County when she crashed into a tree. She was driving with three children under the age of 15, including one child that was 3 years old and without a car seat or seat belt, the DA’s Office said. 

All three children were taken to the hospital with severe injuries. After three hours, her blood alcohol concentration level was at 0.180 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters. Her speedometer showed that she was moving 64 mph when the crash happened while the posted speed limit for that road is 25 mph, the district attorney’s office said. 

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The impact the car made against the tree caused the engine to be thrown from the vehicle and into the ditch on the opposite side of the road.

The DA’s Office said she must serve at least of the half of the sentence, day for day, before becoming eligible for parole. 

“I would like to thank the Texas Highway Patrol for thoroughly investigating this case; especially, Trooper James Payne,” Upshur County District Attorney Billy W. Byrd said.

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