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Texas Man Gets 80 Years Over Fatal 'Drug-Fueled' Car Wrecks That Killed Little Boy, Vet
Blaine Boudreaux, who was reportedly on Xanax when he caused four separate car accidents in one day, reportedly told jurors that he barely remembers anything about the incidents.
A Houston man was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Tuesday as punishment for a “drug fueled binge” that culminated in two fatal car wrecks, claiming the lives of a homeless war veteran and a 6-year-old boy.
“He should spend every day of it behind bars thinking about the people he killed,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement regarding Blaine Boudreaux’s felony murder conviction. “Hit and run murder is an especially cowardly crime. “
The sentence stems from Boudreaux's involvement in four separate car crashes on April, 26, 2015. Boudreaux’s trail of destruction started at about 3 p.m. that afternoon; he was reportedly under the influence of the powerful anti-anxiety medication Xanax at the time, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The string of accidents—four in total—began outside the Texas Medical Center when Boudreaux reportedly rear-ended a car carrying a mother and her daughter. An officer gave him a ticket for the wreck, but Boudreaux was released.
He struck another car from behind just one hour later, and according to KTRK-TV, he was once again allowed to leave the scene.
In less than half an hour, prosecutors said Boudreaux would go on to kill two innocent people with his car.
First, prosecutors said he "plowed" into 61-year-old Leonard Batiste (pictured above, right) while Batiste was pushing a shopping cart along a highway.
“Batiste’s mangled body landed in a ditch, where the former Air Force sergeant, was guarded by a stray dog until his body, along with Boudreaux’s front license plate, was discovered a day later,” the Harris Count DA said in a statement.
While fleeing the scene of the hit-and-run, Boudreaux slammed into a Honda Civic.
The vehicle was carrying 6-year-old Joshua Medrano, who was returning home with his mother after spending the weekend celebrating his grandmother's birthday, prosecutors said.
The first grader, who loved math and Sponge Bob Square Pants, was killed in the wreck.
Boudreaux would later tell jurors that his only memory of the crash was of him hitting his car’s airbag, and an officer telling him that "he had killed a 6-year-old," KTRK-TV reports.
During the trial, Vehicular Crimes Chief Sean Teare, who helped prosecute the case, told jurors of Boudreaux's history of driving under the influence and argued that he needed to be taken off the streets.
"This little boy deserves justice," Teare told jurors, according to prosecutors. "He never got to grow up." Boudreaux was also fined $5,000 for the crimes, KPRC reports.
Boudreaux was convicted of felony murder on Friday, while his 80-year prison sentence was handed down Tuesday.
The lengthy sentence came as a disappointment to defense attorneys Billy Skinner and Matt Deluca. Skinner told the Chronicle he was particularly sad for Boudreaux's young son, Eli.
Both attorneys had requested jurors not give him a maximum prison since his actions didn’t constitute "cold-blooded" murder. Boudreaux had faced up to 99 years or life in prison, prosecutors said.
"You can send a message without putting Blaine in prison for the rest of his life," Skinner said, according to KPRC.
[Photos: Harris County District Attorney's Office]
