Driver in 2022 DWI crash gets 10 years, Lubbock judge offers possibility of

Lubbock District Judge John McClendon said that an unusual drunken driving crash that severely injured a teenage girl two years ago required a punishment with a nuanced approach.

On one side, prosecutors asked for a prison sentence to send a message that drinking and driving on the streets of Lubbock will not be tolerated.

Meanwhile, a defense attorney argued that probation was a reasonable punishment that would hold 43-year-old Cayetano Calzoncit accountable for his part in the crash that he said wouldn’t have happened had the teenage driver not run the red light.

“There’s merit, quite frankly, to both of the attorneys’ positions in this particular case,” he said. “If there was ever a case that was somewhat nuanced it’s this one.”

Ultimately, McClendon came to a decision that he believed appropriately addressed both sides and sentenced Calzoncit to 10 years in prison with an option to pull him out within six months and place him on probation for 10 years if he had no issues while incarcerated.

While on probation, McClendon will order Calzoncit to be held at the Lubbock County Detention Center for two days on the anniversary of the crash over the course of his 10-year probation term.

If his probation is revoked, Calzoncit faces up to 10 years in prison.

McClendon gave Calzoncit two weeks to get his affairs in order before he begins serving his sentence.

Calzoncit, a self-employed carpenter, entered an open plea of guilty on July 12 to a felony driving while intoxicated charge, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison.

He appeared last week for a sentencing hearing before McClendon, who had the option to place Calzoncit on probation since he has no prior felony convictions.

Calzoncit’s case stems from a June 12, 2022, Lubbock police crash investigation involving a Nissan Altima and a Ford F-150 pickup truck near the intersection of 19th Street and West Loop 289.

A crash investigation indicated the Altima driven by a 16-year-old girl was traveling north in the 1900 block of the access road, ran a red light and was struck by the eastbound pickup truck Calzoncit drove.

The 16-year-old girl suffered serious injuries, including fractures to her pelvis and clavicle, brain bleeds and traumatic brain injuries and was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center. She later went through months of physical therapy.

Her 17-year-old passenger was also taken to the hospital for moderate injuries.

Meanwhile, Calzoncit, who was uninjured, was arrested for driving while intoxicated and booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center.

A blood test would later show Calzoncit had a 0.13 blood-alcohol level, one and 1/2 times higher than the legal threshold.

A Lubbock police crash investigator told the court it appeared both parties ran red lights. However, witnesses at the scene told officers they believed Calzoncit had a green light when he entered the intersection.

Lubbock police Cpl. Robert McPherson, a crash investigator, told the court that the traffic lights operated on a two-second delay and he believed the girl entered the intersection after her traffic light turned red and Calzoncit entered the intersection right before his light turned green.

A crash investigator told the court the crash data from Calzoncit’s truck showed he was driving about 52 mph before crashing into the Altima.

Calzoncit, who testified at his hearing, told the court that he had been to a birthday party earlier that day on the east side of town where he drank a six-pack of beer.

He said before the crash he was coming from Levelland, where he dropped off his son and was on his way back to Tahoka when the crash happened.

Calzoncit told the court there was nothing he could have done to avoid the crash, even if he was sober.

“When they ran that light, there was nothing I could do,” he said.

Prosecutors called in an expert who testified about how alcohol impairs people’s mental and physical faculties.

Prosecutors presented evidence that at the time of the crash Calzoncit was a month shy of finishing his probation for a second DWI conviction out of Lamesa.

His last DWI conviction was in 2005, prosecutors told the court.

Calzoncit, who has four children and five grandchildren, told the court he stopped drinking alcohol completely after the crash.

“I realized that the decisions I make are going to affect everyone around me,” he said. “You never know when something is going to happen that is unexpected.”

He said he realized his drinking got out of hand as he was becoming out of control, saying he coped with his divorce.

However, he said he maintained his sobriety from alcohol and cocaine through sheer will and not through substance abuse programs. Instead, he said he found things to occupy his time to keep him busy and not drink.

Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Calzoncit to prison, saying the teenagers were given a life sentence for the ticket-able offense of running a red light.

Prosecutor Erin Van Pelt argued that Calzoncit was the more experienced driver than the 16-year-old and knew that he shouldn’t have been driving while intoxicated, and would have likely avoided the crash had he been sober.

“He did not have the normal use of his mental and physical faculties, ” she said. “His decision that day (to drink and drive), changed lives.”

She argued that Calzoncit’s criminal history showed probation didn’t deter him from getting behind the wheel after drinking and there was no evidence his latest case will change that.

Meanwhile, Calzoncit’s defense attorney, Rod Hobson, argued to the court that probation was an appropriate punishment for his client as the crash wasn’t his client’s fault.

“If she didn’t run the red light, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said. “There’s two witnesses that basically said that the light was green when Cayetano went through it.”

He argued that since the crash, his client, who has been out on bond, had not been in trouble.

He said a prison sentence wouldn’t have a rehabilitative effect as his client was already committed to maintaining his sobriety. It also wouldn’t change the girl’s suffering.

“(The situation is) terrible all the way around,” he said.

He said probation would better help his client stay on the path of sobriety.

McClendon, who presides over the county’s DWI Specialty Court, told Calzoncit that if he does place him on probation, he would order a substance abuse evaluation to determine if he needs more help maintaining his sobriety.

He encouraged him to participate in any kind of program instead of handling his sobriety on his own.

“White knuckling things is not a good or healthy way to do this,” he told Calzoncit.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Driver in Lubbock DWI crash sentenced to 10 years, could get probation

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