Woman Indicted in Triple Fatality

HENDERSON � An East Texas woman has been indicted on three intoxication manslaughter charges after she allegedly killed three family members in a July 10 car wreck. KETK reports Shelby Taylor, 22, of Henderson was indicted by a Rusk County Grand Jury last week. Court documents show Taylor will waive her right to a pre-trial arraignment and will enter a plea of not guilty. She is asking the jury to grant her community supervision as punishment because she has never been convicted of a felony in Texas.

According to Rusk County officials, Taylor’s blood alcohol content level was .16, twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash. She was facing a 2013 DWI accusation, among other charges, before the fatal crash occurred. The deceased are identified as Rudra Patel, 5, Trisha Patel, 12, and the children’s mother, Heena Patel, 43. The father, Ketanbhai Patel, 42, survived the crash.

According to DPS, an oilfield truck driven by Taylor was headed southbound in the northbound lane of 259 near the Gregg and Rusk County line when it collided with a van. Trooper Jean Dark stated Kentanbhai Patel attempted to avoid the crash, but he was not able to dodge the truck in time. The suspect also had a passenger in the truck with her who was identified as Sarah Furlong, 21.