'Two glasses of wine' defense hard to swallow after another Dallas alcohol road tragedy (2024)

Earlier this week

I wrote about Luis Angel Rodriguez,

who was allegedly so drunk last weekend that he headed the wrong way on LBJ early Saturday and plowed into a young family, resulting in the death of Crystal Nuncio, the mother of two still-small children.

Crystal was just trying to get her two kids to the sitter's before starting her day's work as a Garland fire and police dispatcher. But thanks to Rodriguez's wrong-way driving, she's dead, 10-year-old Ally -- suffering from multiple broken bones and several fractures -- remains in a medically- induced coma,

[Related: A no-more-sickening scene than the 5 a.m. drunk driving tragedy.]

Today I've got news of a second alleged deadly DWI from last weekend:

Nicole Hutchison has been charged with intoxication manslaughter

after fatally driving her car into a road crew worker in the wee hours of Friday morning. And she’s a repeat offender, having been arrested on DWI and resisting arrest charges in Denton County in 2000.

Wrong-way driver Rodriguez remains in critical condition as a result of the highway mayhem he created, so we don't know anything about him. But in the case of the road worker's death, the 42-year-old Hutchison -- and her lawyer -- have plenty to say.

But first let’s start with the person most important in this story: The deceased -- 60-year-old Bernard Armstrong. Like Crystal Nuncio, his job involved keeping other local folks safe. In Armstrong's case, he was driving one of those vehicles that flash caution lights and warn drivers of work ahead. In this instance, he was accompanying a street sweeper on North Central Expressway near Southwestern Boulevard.

When he was struck, Armstrong was standing next to his truck on the shoulder of the road. (Hutchison contends he jumped out of the truck and she swerved -- without success -- to miss him.) We don’t know a lot yet about Armstrong, beyond the fact that he only began working for Pannell Industries three weeks before the accident.

But we know a good bit about Hutchison, thanks to her comments to cops, and I couldn’t help but think “affluenza” after hearing her defense.

Same story, just an older excuse-maker.

When she got untangled from her 2009 Mercedes, which ended up crashed into a concrete freeway wall, she was quick to tell arresting officers “that she was wealthy and that the officers will regret this decision in court.” Undeterred, they gave her field sobriety tests, which she failed.

[Related: Lucas McConnell: Standing up to "affluenza boy."]

Hutchisonalso claimed she’d only had two glasses of wine – one at a restaurant earlier in the evening (actually at this point it would have been the night before) and one at the Tastemakers Awards.

[Related: Map: Where is all the booze in Dallas and does it correlate with crime rates?]

The two glasses of wine defense seems sketchy given that, according to local websites, the Tastemakers awards wrapped up at 10 p.m., hours before Hutchison hit Armstrong. Not sure where she was between when 10 p.m. and the time she hit Armstrong, but police stated that she appeared drunk and smelled like alcohol.

The Tastemakers awards were held at the Empire Room on Riverfront Boulevard. Here's a bit of the promotional material: "Want to rub elbows with the people behind Dallas' red hot restaurant scene? CultureMap is proud to bring back the Tastemaker Awards, the second annual celebration of the talent in Dallas' food and drink community, as selected by their peers. … On May 14, the winners will be unveiled at a swanky tasting event. The best part? You're invited to join in the celebration."

It’s not clear whether dogs were welcome at the Tastemakers event, butHutchisonhad her pets with her when she hit Armstrong. We know that because court documents show that she repeatedly asked police about the dogs’ well-being. But, the records continue, she “did not display any concern regarding the crash." She did characterize it to officers on the scene as "odd." Which strikes me, in turn, as an "odd" response.

She also allegedly told the officers they “crossed the line” by asking her to take a Breathalyzer. So they had to obtain a warrant for her blood; no test results are in as of this moment.

Hutchison’s attorney, Paul Johnson, will tell you that I’ve got this story all wrong. You see -- wait for it -- Johnson says the 42-year-old driver suffered closed head injuries in the crash. And that’s why she was unable to “respond effectively” to questions.

Perhaps that's why, despite her pronouncement to the officers that “I’m wealthy,” she listed her monthly income in court records as $1,500.

I’ll be watching for more details in this case and certainly fall on my Carrie Nation hatchet if I've got Hutchison's story all wrong. Stay tuned but don't hold your breath.

[Related: Texas lawmakers, work for DUI mandatory interlocks in memory of little Abdallah.]

More likely what you will read next from me on this topic is the next drunken driver tragedy. I can't promise that I'll catch them all, but I'm trying. And it's not to spoil anyone's fun or shame those who cross the line.

I've been upfront about my own drinking career.

We work up such a big head of steam around so many issues -- on this blog and in this state. When will our society ever be willing to look honestly at our tolerance of drunken driving? We tut-tut over it, but too often, the deadly drunks are repeat offenders. That's why I remain persuaded that we need DUI mandatory interlocks for all offenders. And why I'm going to use what journalistic tools are within my power to keep spotlighting these stories.