Fort Worth driver gets 68 years for I-35W crash that killed 5

Eduardo Gonzalez will spend 68 years in prison for the deaths of five people in a Fort Worth highway crash. A Tarrant County jury reached this verdict on Friday, more than two years after the accident. The sentence includes a $50,000 fine.

Gonzalez, 21, drove a Chevrolet Camaro at roughly 130 miles per hour near the East Seminary Drive exit on Interstate 35W. The crash occurred shortly after midnight on August 19, 2024. His car rear-ended another vehicle, which then caught fire. All five occupants of the struck car died.

The victims were Willie Lee Gunn, 48, and Amber Dawn Hopewell, 38. The three children killed were Elijah Zane Carroll, 9; Chrystale Rayshell Cobbin, 4; and Amiyah LaShae Rose Fisher, 2. Prosecutors said the sentences for the three child victims will be served consecutively. The sentences for the two adult victims will run concurrently.

Officers noted that Gonzalez had red, watery eyes and slurred speech. They also detected the smell of alcohol. They found alcoholic beverages inside his Camaro. Authorities said he had consumed beer and THC before the collision.

Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel described the scene. "He was doing 130 down I-35," Whelchel said. "He was high on THC, and he had been drinking. He never looked up. He never saw the car."

District Attorney Phil Sorrells addressed the outcome in a statement. "No sentence can restore those lives, but this verdict holds him accountable for every one of them," Sorrells said.