Man pleads guilty in intoxication assault of brothers

Posted: Friday, February 18, 2011 11:16 pm

By Jamie L. Bridges

A 29-year-old Mexican national pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of intoxication assault that seriously injured two of his brothers.

One brother is in a permanent vegetative state stemming from the Sept. 29, 2008, accident.

Ruben Alejandro Reyes received a five-year and two-year sentence for two third-degree felony intoxication assault charges, according to Andrew James, prosecutor with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

Reyes must serve the two sentences consecutively, James said.

Reyes was driving north on the U.S. 59 feeder road when he crashed into a construction zone. He drove past several barriers and down into the site for more than 1,000 feet before striking a new section of concrete roadway at a high rate of speed.

His two passengers in the vehicle, Jaciel Reyes, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Carlos Reyes, who was in the back seat, suffered injuries and were taken to area hospitals in The Woodlands and Houston.

Carlos Reyes has since recovered, but Jaciel Reyes is in a permanent vegetative state.

Ruben Reyes’ blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit immediately after the accident, according the the DA’s Office.

“The sentence the judge imposed reflected the seriousness of the crime and the devastating injuries that the victims suffered,â€