LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
A Pollok man has pleaded
guilty to killing one friend and injuring another in a drunk-driving accident.
Isaac Jacob Tucker, 21 pleaded
guilty to intoxicated manslaughter and intoxicated assault. A jury is now
hearing testimony to determine his punishment.
According to a previous
report, Tucker was driving a 1995 Lexus southbound on U.S. 69 North, a mile
south of FM 843, at 12:35 a.m. on Feb 8,when he crossed the center line and
struck an 18-wheeler head-on.
One of Tucker's
passengers, Nicholas Zayne Anthony, 19, of Lufkin, was pronounced dead at the
scene at 12:40 a.m. Another passenger, Ryan Walton, 19, of Pollok, was taken to
a Tyler hospital with serious injuries.
Tucker also suffered serious injuries.
District Attorney Clyde
Herrington began with a detailed description of the accident explaining that
the driver of the 18-wheeler, Michael Sutton, didn't have time to react with
Tucker's swerving vehicle.
All of the passengers in the
car were under 21 and all had been drinking. Herrington said the evidence shows
all were intoxicated.
Defense attorney Jerry
Whiteker responded saying everyone in the car was around the same age, doing
the same thing. He continued saying Tucker has accepted full responsibility and
is remorseful. He believes the evidence will show that his client deserves a
second chance.
Eighteen-wheeler driver
Michael Sutton was the first witness called
to the stand. Sutton said the only other vehicles in the area at the time of
the accident was a FedEx truck. He said the truck swerved into the middle lane
and all he saw were headlights heading in his direction from the southbound
lane.
Sutton said his truck weighed
about 78,000 pounds at the time of the accident and lost control of the vehicle
crossing four lanes of traffic before coming to a stop.
Sutton broke down on the
stand when Herrington showed him pictures of the accident that night.
After the accident, Sutton
said he went through seven months of physical therapy for his neck and back.
Ray Finely Jr., a paramedic
and firefighter with Lufkin Fire Department, was working a 24-hour shift at
Station Number Five when he was called to the wreck.
He described the scene as a
vehicle with two disoriented people and what appeared to be a deceased
passenger.
Finely said his partnered
assessed Tucker and Walton, who were in the front of the car. He assessed the
deceased and said Anthony had a severe injury to the head and had flatlined.
Finely said this accident was
one of the worst he'd seen in his 12 years of service.
Copyright 2012
KTRE. All rights reserved.
Issac Tucker (Source: Angelina County Jail)
