Accused wrong-way driver released from hospital, arrested in deaths of Texas family

A Dallas man accused of being the wrong-way driver who killed two women and a 2-year-old girl on Aug. 7 was arrested Thursday after he was released from a local hospital, Seagoville police said Friday.

Authorities also announced that a Crandall man was taken into custody on Aug. 12 and accused of driving a pickup truck that also hit the car the women and girl were in on Aug. 7 and then fled the scene.

Seagoville police identified the suspected wrong-way driver as Jose Abel Arriaga Contreras, 25, of Dallas.

Contreras suffered serious injuries in the Aug. 7 crash and he was taken to a Dallas hospital. He was discharged on Thursday and Seagoville police said he was immediately arrested.

The Dallas man faces three charges of manslaughter. He was booked into the Kaufman County Jail in with bond set at $1 million on each charge.

The victims of this crash are identified as Ana Teresa Guzman DePena, 49; Jessica Nayeli Pena Guzman, 23, and Jessica’s 2-year-old daughter. Ana Guzman DePena was the mother of Jessica Pena Guzman.

Ana Guzman DePena was a resident of Kaufman County, while Jessica Pena Guzman lived in Katy.

At about 1 a.m. on Aug. 7, authorities were trying to get the attention of a wrong-way driver on U.S. 175 in Seagoville, which is about 50 miles east of Fort Worth.

Crandall police first responded to a report of a a blue Chevrolet pickup truck traveling west in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 175. Officers tried to illuminate the pickup truck with spotlights in an attempt to gain the driver’s attention.

The wrong-way driver accelerated speed and continued on the highway, entering the Seagoville city limits from Kaufman County, police said.

At some point, the Chevrolet pickup collided head-on with a Toyota sedan on eastbound U.S. 175 near FM 1389, killing the two women and child in the car.

.Minutes after the pickup truck hit the Toyota sedan, witnesses reported that a third vehicle collided into the rear of the Toyota with significant impact, Seagoville police said.

Witnesses to this crash reported the third vehicle was a green Dodge pickup. and that driver did not stop.

The Dodge pickup was soon found, locked and abandoned on the shoulder of eastbound U.S. 175 near the FM741 exit in Crandall.

The Dodge pickup had significant front-end damage, Seagoville police said.

During this investigation, detectives identified the driver of the Dodge pickup as James Dylan Gaddis, 30, of Crandall.

An arrest warrant was obtained for Gaddis on Aug. 11 on a charge of accident involving death.

Gaddis surrendered to the Seagoville Police Department on Aug. 12, posted bond and was released.

The investigation continued on Friday.