Drunk driver allegedly kills mother of three

A mother of three, Martha Luna Miranda, age 39, is now dead after a three-time DWI offender allegedly plowed into her car late Saturday night after police say he blew through a red light at the corner of Salinas St. and West Monte Cristo Rd. in Edinburg.

The woman’s husband, seated in the passenger seat, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released from an area hospital, according to a city press release.

Three children, two boys ages 9 and 5 and one girl age 4, were also in the vehicle and sustained injuries. Both boys were transported to San Antonio for further treatment.

The 4-year-old girl was treated and released.

Miranda, their mom, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, charges against the driver, 31-year-old Miguel Angel Suarez, are as follows:

• Intoxication Manslaughter — $175,000
• Intoxication Assault (4 counts) — $50,000 each
• Manslaughter — $175,000
• Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon (2 counts) — $150,000 each
•  Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon — $100,000
•  Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon — $75,000

Total amount you may be asking?

Grand total for the bond is $1,025,000.

The Waiting Game

Suarez caught a break when his first DWI charge landed in Hidalgo County Court-at-Law #4 back in December 2018, with Judge “Fred” Garza presiding.

The first DWI charge was followed up with a second charge of drunk driving in November 2020, but that case, too, got pushed further down the road.

Approximately a year later, November 2021, Suarez, apparently not a quick study, was back in Garza’s court facing a third DWI, but it would take until April 2024 before all three DWI charges were rolled into one and laid to rest – Class B Misdemeanor.

In Texas, if a driver is charged and convicted of two DWIs, the third charge can become a felony, but only if the first two have been adjudicated (conviction, plea deal, etc.)

“But in this case,” said Hidalgo County DA Terry Palacios, when Suarez was charged with a third DWI in November 2021,“(he) had zero convictions because the first two were still pending.”

Then he finally copped a plea deal to all three in April 2024, “and (the court) sentenced him to 16 months of probation.”

In some other states, this endless re-setting of court dates, and/or bundling three misdemeanors into one, so no felony is on the books, has been solved, in part, with a “Rocket Docket” System.

Attorneys are only allowed two postponements. After that, they must show a medical emergency or the case goes to trial.

In a few states like Florida, if a misdemeanor isn’t tried within 180 days, the case can be dismissed for a “Speedy Trial” violation.

This forces the judicial system to stop kicking the can down the road, so to speak, and adjudicate each case as they come along, one by one, instead of waiting approximately six years — so three can be bundled into one, with no felony charge on the books — even if a driver has been charged with three DWIs.

For both the defendant and his/her attorney, the longer the delay (trial by jury or a plea deal) ,the better the chance that things will turn out better in the end.

Police officers, for example, move, retire, or they may forget details of the traffic stop.

Dashcam footage can get lost or corrupted when the end of a decade draws closer.

The American Bar Association says that a misdemeanor DWI should be resolved within 90 to 180 days.

In the case of Miguel Suarez, the time from his first DWI charge to his final plea lasted more than five years as he picked up two more along the way.

Funeral arrangements for the mother of three, Martha Luna Miranda, age 39 when she was struck and killed Saturday night, are pending.