ATASCOSITA, Texas – The 17-year-old driver accused of causing the crash that killed two 16-year-old girls appeared in court Thursday.
#BREAKING: Jagger Smith, 17, silently walks into the courtroom. His attorney and family members are with him. Smith is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter. @KPRC2 #kprc2 pic.twitter.com/7568JODLax
— KPRC Cathy Hernandez (@KPRC2Cathy) July 26, 2018
Prosecutor said Jaggar Smith, admitted to drinking a full bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 before getting behind the wheel of a 2008 Nissan Altima. Prosecutors said he had slurred speech, red, droopy eyes and smelled of alcohol.
Investigators said witnesses told deputies Smith was driving 70 to 80 miles an hour in a 40 mile per hour zone along Timber Forest Road around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday when he lost control of the car and hit several trees, splitting the vehicle in half.
Two Atascocita High School students, Chloe Robison and Salma Gomez, died.
Both girls were incoming juniors at Atascocita High School.
Smith, a student at Kingwood High School, suffered minor injuries.
Deputies said all three teens were wearing seat belts.
Friends of the girls gathered at the site of the crash, where they left flowers and consoled each other.
PHOTOS: Memorial for Atascocita High School students killed in crash
A memorial grows for the Atascocita High School students killed in a suspected drunken driving crash on July 25, 2018.
Smith is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter, officials said. He posted a $60,000 bond and was released from jail Wednesday evening.
Under Smith's bond conditions, he cannot drive, must have an alcohol monitor inside his home and has a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Investigators with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are working to trace where the alcohol came from. Smith is due back in court in September.
The Smith family released a statement Wednesday:
“We are all saddened and beyond dismayed by the events that have placed us in a position to make this statement. Our family extends our most sincere and heartfelt prayers and condolences to all of the victims in this tragedy. Two beautiful young lives were needlessly ended, and another young life.
"We are all in shock and under a fog of confusion due to this event. We are gratified by the public comments made by other students that show Jaggar as we know him was irreparably altered forever. Three families have been completely upended and will never be the same as a result of what has occurred.
"We have been and will continue to cooperate with the authorities conducting the investigation.
"We ask the public and media to please extend privacy, both to the victims and to our own family, as all of us try process this tragic event, and begin the process of grieving, eventually healing, and hopefully recovering at some point in the distant future.”
The family’s attorney, Chip B. Lewis, released follow-up statement Thursday:
“Jaggar and his family cannot adequately express the depths of their despair over the loss of two of the most beautiful live imaginable.
“We will have no further public comment as no words could ever fill the hearts of the families and friends of Chloe and Salma.”
