BEAUMONT, Texas — An East Texas man has been found guilty of causing a 2022 head-on wreck and severely injuring another driver in Port Arthur.
Derek Laningham, 35, of Henderson, was found guilty of intoxication assault Wednesday afternoon by a jury in Jefferson County's 252nd District Court.
The jury was immediately dismissed as prior to the start of his trial Laningham had opted to be sentenced by presiding Judge Raquel West if found guilty.
West has ordered a pre-sentencing report and once it is complete a date will be set for him to return to court before Judge West to be sentenced.
He was accused of being intoxicated and driving the wrong-way along Texas Highway 73 before causing a head-on wreck that seriously injured a 26-year-old Winnie man.
Jury selection happened Tuesday morning followed by opening statements that afternoon before Judge Raquel West.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Phillip Smith told jurors that evidence would show that Laningham was driving the wrong way when his vehicle struck the other one head-on.
The force of the collision, with both vehicles going at least 60 mph, knocked the engine out of Laningham's car and threw it about 60 yards away from the wreck Smith told the jury.
The other driver's injuries included compound lung injuries, compound fractures, a brain injury and other severe injuries he said during his opening statement.
Smith also noted that, following the wreck, Laningham admitted to drinking and had a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit.
During the opening statement for the defense, attorney Ryan Gertz told the jury that there are three elements that are the focus of the trial.
Was Laningham intoxicated, did he cause the wreck and were the injuries of the other driver serious as defined by Texas law?
Gertz told jurors there was no debate on the first two saying Laningham was driving the wrong way and there was no way his BAC was below the limit.
However, Gertz did note that jurors must decide if the injuries of the other driver meet the definition of serious injuries under Texas law. He then read the definition to them from the law.
On the night of the wreck Laningham was driving a 2008 Dodge Avenger and struck a 2021 Toyota Camry, driven by a 26-year-old Winnie man, head-on according to a probable cause affidavit in the case.
Port Arthur Police had received numerous reports of a wrong-way driver heading east in the westbound lanes of Highway 73 before the wreck happened according to the affidavit.
The speedometer of Laningham's Dodge was locked at 70 mph and the other car's was locked at 60 mph the affidavit said.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.