LEWISVILLE — A man who has already been convicted of driving while intoxicated three times plowed into the back of a sedan on Interstate 35E in Lewisville early Sunday morning, killing the driver of the other car and her 13-year-old daughter, police said.
Lewisville police say it won't be long before 30-year-old John Patrick Barton, of Lewisville, is officially charged with two counts of murder for driving drunk and causing Sunday's deadly crash on Interstate 35E.
While police said Barton had a working driver's license, they said he shouldn't have been behind the wheel because he was already on parole. Barton was on probation with three DWI convictions.
The state issued a blue warrant, which is issued for parolees who violate their parole based on a subsequent arrest. For Barton, it stems from a confirmed parole violation made during Sunday's crash.
On Monday, Barton spent his 30th birthday hospitalized. He was treated for internal injuries he suffered in the crash. The minute he's released, police said he will be escorted to jail.
Officers said Barton's black Mazda 3 was headed north when it crashed into a red Nissan Sentra sedan carrying five people at 2:17 a.m. near Vista Ridge Mall.
"Witness accounts stated that vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, attempted to change lanes into the middle lane, and struck the Nissan in the rear, causing both vehicles to spin," said Lewisville police spokesman Lt. Kendall Lynn. "Both vehicles traveled quite a distance before they came to rest."
The driver of the Nissan died at the scene; she was identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office as Kandace Hull, 33, of Argyle. Hull's 13-year-old daughter Autumn died eight hours later at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said.
"Speed is a possible factor involved in this," Lynn said. "There was a severe impact — a front-to-back impact — which pushed the trunk area of the Nissan into the passenger compartment."
Hull's two other children and her husband remained hospitalized Sunday night for injuries suffered in the crash.
"The driver of the Mazda was subsequently arrested for intoxication manslaughter," Lynn said. "He was taken by a police vehicle to a hospital where a mandatory blood draw was done, and then transported to our jail facility."
Records indicate that Barton has a long criminal history dating back to his teenage years. He has also been arrested on speeding and burglary charges.
His first DWI conviction was in 2001. Barton was placed on parole in January 2009 for his third DWI conviction stemming from an incident in June, 2006.
As of noon Monday, there was no word on Barton's blood alcohol level after Sunday's crash.
Northbound I-35E just north of Highway 121 was closed for several hours as police investigated the accident and cleared debris from the roadway.
E-mail wzwirko@wfaa.com and jbetz@wfaa.com
