Deputies say the SUV driver was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge after the Wednesday afternoon collision in Dallas.
DALLAS, Texas — A tow truck driver was struck and killed Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 20 near Spur 408 and Mountain Creek Parkway while helping with a flat tire, and deputies later arrested the SUV driver on an intoxication manslaughter charge.
The crash quickly became more than a traffic investigation because it ended the life of a roadside worker and opened a felony case tied to alleged drinking before the collision. Authorities identified the dead man as Guillermo Garcia. Investigators said the SUV driver, Selvin Omar Amador Morazan, showed signs of intoxication after the wreck and told deputies he had been drinking hours earlier. The case now centers on what happened in the moments before the SUV left the roadway shoulder line and hit Garcia and the tow truck.
Deputies said they were sent to the westbound lanes of I-20 at about 3:43 p.m. Wednesday after a witness called in a report that a man had been hit by a vehicle near the highway shoulder. By then, Garcia had stopped to help a 59-year-old motorist dealing with a flat tire. Investigators said Garcia was standing on the left side of his tow truck, which remained on the shoulder, when a silver SUV swerved over and struck him and the truck. Jose Moreno-Mercado, who had gone to help with the tire, described the moment in painful terms. Garcia, he said, “was a very good, nice person,” and the SUV “passed right by and that’s when it hit him.” Garcia was taken to Methodist Central Hospital, where authorities said he died from his injuries.
Witness accounts and the arrest affidavit filled in much of the first timeline, though some details remain unresolved. Deputies said Garcia was found unconscious but still breathing, with severe head injuries, after the impact. Moreno-Mercado told reporters he tried to flag down other drivers and stayed with Garcia as emergency crews arrived. He said Garcia laid his head in his lap while he spoke to him. Investigators identified the SUV driver as Morazan and said he told them he looked down after getting a call from his wife, then realized he had hit something when he looked back up. According to the affidavit, he said he was driving to work at a Chicken Express in Grand Prairie. Deputies also wrote that his eyes appeared red and glossy and that they noticed a strong odor of alcohol after the crash. Authorities have not publicly said how fast the SUV was traveling or whether toxicology testing has been completed.
The death adds to the long-running danger faced by people who work inches from moving traffic on Texas highways. Tow truck drivers, road crews and first responders often do routine jobs in places where a small mistake by a passing motorist can turn fatal in seconds. In this case, investigators said Garcia was not standing in a traffic lane but on the shoulder beside his truck while helping a stranded driver. That detail is central to the case because it points to a crash that authorities say happened after the SUV drifted out of its proper path. The scene near Spur 408 and Mountain Creek Parkway also snarled westbound traffic as deputies examined debris, vehicle positions and witness statements. For Garcia’s friend, the loss was not only sudden but deeply personal. Moreno-Mercado said Garcia was humble and known for helping others, a description that matched what Garcia was doing when he was hit.
The criminal case is now moving through the early stages. Morazan was booked on an intoxication manslaughter charge, a second-degree felony under Texas law. Television reports on Thursday said jail and court records also showed an immigration hold, though immigration status is separate from the intoxication manslaughter allegation itself. Investigators are expected to continue reviewing witness statements, medical findings and any chemical test results gathered after the arrest. It is also possible that prosecutors will seek additional records related to the driver’s phone use because the affidavit says Morazan reported looking down after a call from his wife. Authorities have not announced a court date in the public reports now available, and they have not said whether any additional charges are under review. For now, the known facts place the case in a familiar but devastating category: a roadside death followed by a felony accusation tied to impairment.
At the scene and afterward, the human loss stayed in the foreground. Moreno-Mercado’s account gave the crash a dimension beyond the charge sheet and traffic map. He said he had come out to help Garcia with the tire, and then watched the ordinary roadside stop collapse into chaos. Personal items were thrown across the highway, he said, and the work of helping a stranded driver became an emergency in seconds. Garcia’s death also left behind a portrait of a man remembered first for service. “He would help everybody,” Moreno-Mercado said. That line carried through local coverage because it explained both who Garcia was and why he was on the shoulder that afternoon. The story is now part crash investigation, part criminal case and part reminder of how exposed roadside workers remain even when they appear to be out of traffic.
The case stood Friday with Garcia dead, Morazan jailed on an intoxication manslaughter charge and investigators still working to complete the record of what happened on I-20. The next milestone is likely a court appearance and the release of any additional findings from deputies or prosecutors.
Author note: Last updated March 20, 2026.