Alton woman sentenced to 10 years for fatal Downtown McAllen crash

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A 21-year-old Alton resident was sentenced to prison Friday for a fatal auto-pedestrian crash that happened in May 2022.

Sorely Lizeth Nino plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter and will serve 10 years in prison for crashing into another vehicle in Downtown McAllen while intoxicated.

The fatal auto-pedestrian claimed the life of Brenda Belmontes, who officials say was entering her car when Nino crashed into her parked vehicle.

“A 10-year prison sentence is warranted when an innocent life is lost because somebody made the selfish decision of driving while intoxicated,” said Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios.

Belmontes was transported to McAllen Medical Center following the auto-pedestrian accident where she was later pronounced dead.

Investigation by the McAllen Police Department revealed Nino, who was 19 years old at the time of the crash, showed signs of intoxication and had a blood alcohol content level of 0.19.

“I urge citizens of the Rio Grande Valley to prevent these situations by making a plan ahead of time to avoid drunk driving,” Palacios said.