Driver who killed 6 in Idaho crash was drunk: police

It has been revealed that the Idaho man involved in a car crash that killed six people and injured nine others was under the influence of alcohol at the time. As a result, Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal submitted a request to amend the criminal complaint against 26-year-old Luis Garcia-Diaz to reflect the increased severity.

Garcia-Diaz currently faces six counts of vehicular manslaughter, and while those charges would remain in place, the fact that he was driving under the influence would be taken into account by the court. With the amendment, he faces up to 15 years in prison per charge, for a potential sentence of 90 years.
 

A press release stated that the move to amend the complaint came after evidence from the Idaho State Police indicated that the suspect was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. 

"The original charges were based on evidence collected at the scene, but a blood alcohol level has now been established by evidence received by the State Police through the service of search warrants," Neal wrote in a press release, per KTVB. 

The incident in question took place on May 18 along Highway 20 in Idaho Falls. Garcia-Diaz was driving eastbound in a Dodge pickup truck when he allegedly drifted over the center line and crashed into a Chevrolet van traveling in the opposite direction.

The driver of the van and five passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while Garcia-Diaz and nine other passengers were taken to hospital with varying injuries. Those who lost their lives were identified by Bonneville County Coroner Rick Taylor as Abel Mejía Martínez, 43, Pedro Manuel Alcantar Mejía, 26, Brandon Ponce Gallegos, 24, Jose Guadalupe Sánchez Medina, 20, Luis Enrique Sereno Perez, 32, and Javier Gomez Alcantar, 36.

In a statement, the Mexican government confirmed that all the victims in the van were Mexican citizens in the United States with H2A work visas. They had been on the way to work at the time. Investigators are still trying to determine Garcia-Diaz's immigration status.

He was arrested on May 24 after being discharged from the hospital and taken into custody at the Bonneville County Jail. He is set to appear in court on June 7.