A University of Alabama student is facing 19 felony charges, including two counts of intoxication manslaughter, following a three-car collision that killed two people and injured five others in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 27.
As of Tuesday evening, Nicholas Michael Justin Wyzykowski, 21, was being held in the Travis County (Texas) Jail on $185,000 bond following the fatal crash. In addition to manslaughter, Wyzykowski is also charged with four counts of aggravated assault causing bodily injury, among others, according to jail records.
According to an Austin Police Department press release, Wyzykowski was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche at high speeds when he rear-ended a Toyota Prius. The Prius veered into oncoming traffic and struck a Toyota Camry head-on.
The driver of the Prius, Margaret “Peggy” Howard, 60, was killed in the crash. Her son, Cale Howard, 18, died later in the hospital. Steiner Ranch Elementary School in Austin listed Peggy Howard as a kindergarten teacher on the school’s website.
Five passengers from the Prius and Camry were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Wyzykowski abandoned his vehicle and left the scene, but police later found him nearby. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. When given a sobriety test for medical purposes, Wyzykowski had a blood alcohol content level of .27, more than three times the legal limit of .08, according to police records released to local TV station KXAN in Austin.
Previously, Wyzykowski was arrested on Oct. 20 in Tuscaloosa County for domestic violence in the third degree, according to county records.
A UA spokeswoman confirmed that Wyzykowski is a UA student as of Dec. 31 and was enrolled in the fall semester. The 2012 Corolla yearbook listed Wyzykowski as a member of the University’s Sigma Pi fraternity chapter.
