Driver Brags: “I Drive Better When I Drink” in Live Video Moments Before Fatal Crash

A Texas man was caught on camera drinking and boasting about how well he drives drunk just moments before he crashed the vehicle he was driving, instantly killing three of the passengers, including his girlfriend. Camilo Morejon, a 47-year-old man of Cuban origin, was live streaming via Facebook Live while he drove through the Jersey Village neighborhood of northwest Houston early on Sunday morning.

In the roughly two-minute-long vide, Morejon could be seen drinking from a beer bottle while his fellow passengers are also drinking, presumably after a long night out partying. Mere minutes before the fatal crash, Morejon accelerates the car while bragging in Spanish, “I drive better when I’m drinking, as you see, with a bottle in my hand” (“Yo manejo mejor cuando estoy tomado, así mira, con la botella en la mano”).

Minutes later, the silver Honda Accord that Morejon was driving crashed head-on at 90 mph into a Ford F-150 pickup truck that was attempting to enter a gas station, according to local authorities. The video had ended before the tragic accident took place. Morejon and the truck’s driver, 45-year-old Pedro Hernandez-Martinez, were both taken to the hospital in critical condition.

However, the three passengers in the car were all killed, reports the Houston Chronicle. The deceased passengers were later identified as Leosveyka Gonzalez, 35, Massel Rodriguez, 32, and Ricardo Rodriguez-Tamayo, 40.

Morejon was charged with faces three counts of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and one count of intoxication assault with a vehicle. He is accused of causing the fatal accident that left his three passengers dead on the scene. If found guilty of the charges, Morejon could face up to 80 years in jail.

The driver of the pickup truck, Hernandez-Martinez, was hospitalized in critical condition with a brain bleed and a broken arm, according to court documents reviewed by the Chronicle. Hernandez-Martinez remains hospitalized in critical condition. If he doesn’t survive, Morejon could see his charges enhanced.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the Facebook Live video, which has a time stamp of 7:47 a.m., just moments before the deadly crash occurred at 7:53. The video was apparently captured by another passenger who was also drinking beer.

According to court records, Morejon was operating his Honda at an unsafe while driving westbound down FM529 – a two-lane undivided roadway – before colliding with the Ford pickup, which was traveling east down the same road.

When investigators arrived at the scene, they immediately smelled alcohol on Morejon’s breath. His blood-alcohol content was 0.168, over double the legal limit. Authorities are now investigating several local bars where Morejon could have purchased the beer.

“We believe there are probably three or four bars that are around the area we believe they were and we are in the process today of going to those locations determining which ones were contributing factors to this crash,” Harris County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Sean Teare told Click2Houston. “It’s very rare that we see actions of the defendant that close in time to a horrific crash like that but it’s what happens it’s what goes on moments before lives are lost,” Teare added.

Morejon is currently being held on a $275,000 bond at a Harris County detention center, reports Oxygen. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 5.