Amarillo Man Indicted for Death of Five in December

Back on December 22, 2021, a family of 5 was killed when someone ran into them head-on as they were out looking at Christmas lights.

Get our free mobile app

Larry G. Rolen II was arrested and charged with four counts of intoxicated manslaughter.  He was also charged with one count of intoxicated assault.

A Nissan Altima was going westbound on St. Francis. The Nissan was hit head-on by a Chevrolet 2500 pickup driven by Rolen.   The pick-up had been traveling eastbound in the Westbound lanes. There were 5 people in the Nissan at the time of the crash. Four of the occupants died at the scene, the fifth succumbed to her injuries on Friday, December 24th.

Rolen was indicted on Tuesday, July 5th in a Potter County Courtroom on 5 counts of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle.  If convicted Rolen faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

As this case moves forward hopefully justice will be served, however, even with a conviction, a family was devastated due to drinking and driving.

The victims in the crash were 23-year-old Andrea Aguirre, 46-year-old Angelica Colin, 88-year-old Raul Colin, 85-year-old Teresa Colin, and 35-year-old Raul Perez Colin.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were 1,077 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol. This is 24% of the total number of people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes.

In 2021, Amarillo saw a total of 260 crashes due to driving under the influence.  Of those 260 this included 9 fatalities. The TABC opened an investigation into the bar where Rolen was last known to be served.