Trial date set for wrong-way causeway driver charged with manslaughter

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Cameron County records indicate a trial date has been set for the wrong-way causeway driver who claimed the life of a 20-year-old woman.

Hugo Lara is accused of driving the wrong way on the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway on June 2, 2024, and crashing into the young woman after an alleged night of drinking on South Padre Island.

Records indicate Lara's trial is set for October 13. He is set to have a jury trial.

Lara is indicted on charges of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle in connection to the fatal crash. This is a second-degree felony.

ValleyCentral looked into Lara’s criminal history , which revealed he has a rap sheet of drunk driving charges dating back to 2003.

The victim in the case is identified as Mariah Desiree Enriquez, who was celebrating her graduation the night of her death.

A news release from the J. Michael Moore law firm, who is representing Enriquez’ family, claims Lara was out drinking on SPI at a friend’s 42nd birthday party the night of the crash

As previously reported by ValleyCentral, at about 1:45 a.m. June 2, 2024, Lara allegedly drove a 2023 Ford F-150 pickup truck westbound into the eastbound lanes of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway (the wrong way), colliding head-on with Enriquez’s 2008 Kia.

Enriquez’s family also filed suit against Lara and his employer, Camelot Designs and Investments LLC, citing the company as the owner of the truck involved in the crash.

The lawsuit stated that Lara was acting within the course and scope of his employment or official duties.

Additionally, a civil lawsuit cites the role of Bar Louie and Tequila Sunset Bar & Grill for allegedly overserving alcohol to Lara, an already intoxicated person. The lawsuit also cites the establishments’ alleged failure to prevent a dangerous situation that resulted in a fatal wrong-way collision.

For more information on the roles that the bars played in this case check out our previous coverage.