Authorities: Driver may be in the country illegally
By CINDY GEORGE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 19, 2009, 4:30PM

An alleged drunk driver was charged with killing a Huntsville woman in a head-on collision early Saturday in Montgomery County.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Bulmaro Santos was headed south on the northbound side of I-45 when his Chevrolet Blazer struck a married couple's Toyota Avalon.

The accident happened just after midnight on a stretch about one mile south of Oak Ridge North, a small community near The Woodlands.

Robert Bennett, the Avalon's driver, tried to avoid the crash, the trooper's report said. Bennett, 48, was transported to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital with scrapes and bruises.

Bennett's 46-year-old wife, Jan Bennett, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Everyone involved in the accident was wearing a seat belt, the report said.

Santos, a 22-year-old cook from Pinehurst, was treated at the hospital, then taken to the Montgomery County jail, where he remains on $150,000 bail.

He is charged with intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle and intoxicated assault with a vehicle.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Santos, which means his immigration status is under investigation, a jail official said.

cindy.george@chron.com

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