Suspected drunk driver charged after crash kills two in Forney

Police have charged a suspected drunk driver with intoxication manslaughter after allegedly running a stop sign and killing two women in a car crash Monday morning in Forney.

Police say Royce Freebourn, 61, was behind the wheel of a Land Rover when he blew through a stop sign near the service road of eastbound Highway 80 and Gateway Boulevard just before 11 a.m. and collided with another vehicle.

The victims were driving north on Gateway Blvd. in a Ford Focus when Freebourn’s SUV collided with them in the intersection - sending both vehicles several yards down the highway entrance ramp.

Police say both vehicles caught fire and the two women died on scene while the suspect was taken to the hospital.

Family members on scene were visibly emotional and did not want to speak on camera but a family friend told us one man lost his wife and sister-in-law in the crash.

The victims were later identified as Margarita Botello and Yazmin Villagomez Martinez.

Police officers initially responding to the crash suspected the driver was intoxicated while trying to conduct a field-sobriety test.

“There were some observed signs of lethargic, slow to speak, and the officer that conducted part of the standardized field sobriety test did observe a horizontal gaze and stagger which is a clue we look for in the eyes,” said Forney PD Chief Mica Lunt.

Both Forney police along with the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating.

The intersection was closed for most of the day as police conducted their investigation but later re-opened.

According to public records, Freebourn does not have any previous criminal charges. He was in the hospital Monday evening with non-life threatening injuries.

Police say it’s unclear when he will be released from the hospital and booked into jail on the two intoxication manslaughter charges.