Local News

Irving Teacher Killed By Alleged Drunk Driver

IRVING (CBS 11 News) ― A North Texas elementary school teacher and her husband were killed early Monday morning by a suspected drunk driver.

A Dallas County sheriff's deputy pulled over Uriel Perez Palacios around 2 a.m. Monday after spotting him weaving through traffic, authorities said. As the deputy approached the car on foot, Palacios sped off with his lights off and drove through a red light at Mockingbird and North Central Expressway. 
Palacios' Yukon slammed into a sport utility vehicle carrying five Southern Methodist University students. The car then went airborne and crashed into an SUV, crushing it and killing the two occupants inside, authorities said. At least three others were injured, including two SMU students who were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Erika Moreno Clout, 24, and her husband German Clout, 23, were returning from a date at the movies. They died at the scene.

Erika and German were married in July. German worked in construction and was an aspiring musician. Erika was a second-year teacher at Keyes Elementary School in Irving.

Tuesday, her students received the heartbreaking news. "She was a wonderful teacher and will be greatly missed," said Irma Vega-Zadeh, the principal at the elementary school where Clouet taught.

Laura Peters started teaching at Keyes last year along with Erika Clout. "I'm devastated, and think every one at this school is devastated. Everybody has called each other to make sure we're okay," said Peters. "We're all just preparing for tomorrow, to break the news to the students."

Public records reveal the 22-year-old suspect has a lengthy criminal history. There are 41 offenses on his record and investigators say Palacios has been involved in two police chases.

Palacios pled guilty to his first two misdemeanor DWI's in 2003. In November of 2007, he was arrested for his third DWI. In April of 2008, he posted a $3,500 bond. But when he missed two court dates, his bond was upgraded to half a million dollars and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On June 29, Palacios was arrested again in Garland for his fourth DWI. But he was released from jail after posting two $500 bonds. Two months later, he now faces two murder charges and three counts of intoxication assault in his fifth DWI case.

Palacios is listed in serious condition at Baylor Hospital. His female passenger had to be cut from the vehicle and was also hospitalized.
New statistics released last week show that Texas leads the nation in deadly drunk driving crashes with 1,300 people killed each year.

The president of Mother Against Drunk Driving was in North Texas for a national conference to eliminate drunk driving. Laura Dean-Mooney says this case is a prime example of why the mission is so important.

"We've got to stop the revolving door in Texas," said Dean-Mooney. "We need to contact the Texas legislature and demand that alcohol initiation interlock devices be installed for all convicted drunk drivers in Texas."
 

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)