Jury hears tearful testimony from father of a drunk driving victim

Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News
·2 min read
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Jurors in the Intoxicated Manslaughter trial of Justine Gallegos heard emotional testimony Wednesday from the victim's father.

Justine Brittany Gallegos, right, leaves an elevator at the Wichita County Courthouse with defense attorney Bob Estrada after a day of jury selection for her intoxication manslaughter trial Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. The Lawton, Oklahoma, woman is charged in connection with the death of Pimporn C. Kasemthaveetsak of Burkburnett in a 2019 crash.
Justine Brittany Gallegos, right, leaves an elevator at the Wichita County Courthouse with defense attorney Bob Estrada after a day of jury selection for her intoxication manslaughter trial Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. The Lawton, Oklahoma, woman is charged in connection with the death of Pimporn C. Kasemthaveetsak of Burkburnett in a 2019 crash.

Dale Moore said he and his wife adopted Pimporn C. Kasemthaveetsak in Thailand when she was 11 years old.

"I haven't had a good day in four years," Moore said, referring to the wreck that killed his 28-year-old daughter on Sept. 28, 2019.

Gallegos, from Lawton, Okla., has pleaded guilty to charges arising from allegations she was drunk and driving on Kell Boulevard at a high rate of speed before careening across a median and crashing into Pimporn's car, forcing it into a tree. Now a jury in 89th District Court must decide her punishment.

Moore described his daughter as a "very smart, very articulate woman" with a strong work ethic. He said at the time of her death she was working two jobs while studying for a master's degree and hoping to become an Air Force officer.

"She was a shining light," Moore said, breaking into tears during his testimony.

Also on Wednesday, a medical examiner from the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas testified Pimporn suffered multiple injuries in the crash, but died almost instantly from a fractured skull.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Shelton has presented witnesses who testified a staggering Gallegos left the now-defunct Boulevard nightclub on Kell Boulevard despite a club security employee trying to stop her.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Justin Burger said analysis of the computer in Gallegos' Chrysler 300 indicated she was traveling about 110 mph at the time of the crash.

DPS laboratory manager Marissa Gomez said results of tests of Gallegos' blood showed an alcohol level of 0.247 percent. The legal limit in Texas is .08 percent.

Wichita Falls Police officer John Rickets and a charge nurse at United Regional Health Care testified Gallegos was uncooperative and combative when she was taken to the hospital for treatment of facial injuries the night of the crash.

Ricketts said the case has stuck with him because Gallegos showed a lack of remorse for what had happened.

A Lawton Police officer also testified about arresting Gallegos for drunk driving near some bars in Lawton in 2017.

The state rested Wednesday afternoon and defense attorney Bob Estrada will present his case Thursday. Judge Charles Barnard said it's possible the jury could get the case Thursday afternoon.

Gallegos could receive probation or two to 20 years in prison, depending on the jury's recommendation.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury hears tearful testimony from father of a drunk driving victim