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Twenty-year-old Ashley Jones is charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, and related counts, said the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
It happened around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, June 26, prosecutors said. Jones was is in Toyota Highlander with an 11-year-old passenger when she and another driver at a stoplight began to race down West Main Street, investigators believe.
Heavy rain was falling while Jones allegedly reached 80 miles per hour in a zone posted for 25 mph, the DA's Office said.
She lost control of her car on a right curve near George Street, crossing over into oncoming traffic and hitting three different vehicles, according to investigators.
In one of the cars, a black Honda Civic, 31-year-old passenger Francisco Salgado-Hernandez, was found lying face-down in the back seat in cardiac arrest, authorities said. He was rushed to Einstein Montgomery Hospital and died from his injuries under an hour later.
Another passenger in the black Civic, Francisca Lopez Andrade, was critically injured, they added.
Five others, including Jones' 11-year-old passenger, received "minor to moderate" injuries, prosecutors said. Jones was unharmed.
“Drag racing is very different than speeding,” said DA Kevin Steele. “It’s hard to imagine anything more dangerous and reckless than racing in bad weather, in a busy business district, at more than three times the posted speed limit."
At her arraignment on Thursday, Sept. 14, Jones' bail was set at $50,000 unsecured, court records show.
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