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SALT LAKE CITY — Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Salt Lake man accused of killing a woman by hitting her car head-on while driving the wrong way on I-15 while impaired.
The woman had been married just seven hours earlier.
Manaure Gonzalez-Rea, 36, is charged in 3rd District Court with automobile homicide and theft, second-degree felonies; failing to stop for a serious injury accident, a third-degree felony; two counts of DUI, a class A misdemeanor; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.
Just after 1 a.m. Saturday, police say a Toyota Tacoma going the wrong way on I-15 hit a Toyota Corolla head-on near 2300 South. Angelica "Jelly" Jimenez, 26, who was returning from her wedding reception, was killed.
The Tacoma rolled onto its hood after the collision. A passer-by who stopped to help pulled Gonzalez-Rea out of the overturned Tacoma and placed him in the bed of his own truck, according to charging documents.
While the good Samaritan was helping others, Gonzalez-Rea stole the man's truck and drove away, the charges state. The stolen truck was later spotted on the off-ramp from I-80 to Redwood Road and Gonzalez-Rea was arrested.
Troopers on scene noted that Gonzalez-Rea "had droopy eyelids and an overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his breath" and that his "speech was very slow and slurred," according to the charges, and also had trouble maintaining his balance.
Gonzalez-Rea claimed he only had three beers prior to the crash, according to the charges. A blood draw was conducted to test for both his blood-alcohol level and for the possible presence of drugs. The results of those tests were pending Thursday.
The fatal crash was one of five over the weekend, resulting in the deaths of six people. Jimenez's family, still mourning their loved one's loss and many still seemingly in shock, spoke Monday at a press conference detailing the deadly weekend.
"What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life was also the worst day of her life," Jimenez's sister, Rachel Vigil, said. "She was only married about seven hours before her life was taken."
Prosecutors have requested Gonzalez-Rea be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail.
