2013-07-27 Ware

Fatal Drunken Driving Crash – Billy Don "B.D." Ware

2013 Fatal Crash

A woman died early Saturday when a drunken driver smashed into the car she was driving in downtown Amarillo, police said.

Billy Don Ware, 37, was taken into custody and was charged with intoxicated manslaughter, said Sgt. Warren Gross of the Amarillo Police Department's Traffic Investigation Squad. A passenger in the truck was arrested for public intoxication, Gross said.

Potter County jail records show that Ware was booked on a charge of intoxicated manslaughter early Saturday.

About 12:30 a.m., a red 2006 Chevy Cobalt sedan driven by a 61-year-old woman was eastbound in the center lane on Ninth Avenue, Gross said, and a white Dodge pickup driven by Ware was southbound in the right lane on Pierce Street when the front of the pickup hit the driver's side of the car at the intersection.

The truck ended up northbound partly on the east curb of Pierce Street, Gross said, and the car stopped on the northeast curb of the intersection.^[1]

Gross said Ware then exited the truck and went to check on the woman, who was transported to a local hospital by ambulance and died from injuries sustained in the wreck.

The victim was later identified as Mary Nancy Encinias, a 61-year-old custodial foreman for Potter County.

Ware's Criminal History

Ware also caused a wreck on July 16, 2011, that left about 700 Amarilloans without electricity and hospitalized four people, an AGN Media report said.^[2]

That incident occurred shortly before midnight when Ware was driving a 2008 Ford F-150, authorities said. He struck a 2006 Dodge pickup before hitting a transformer pole and an unoccupied Oldsmobile sedan in the 1600 block of South Georgia Street, police said.

The victims' injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

In September 2011, Ware was booked into the Potter County jail on a DWI charge, Texas Department of Public Safety records show. He was convicted of the charge on September 28, 2011, records show.

Sentencing (2016)

An Amarillo man was sentenced to 15 years in prison more than two and a half years after he was arrested and charged in a fatal drunken driving incident downtown.

Earlier this week in 108th District Court, Billy Don "B.D." Ware, 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of intoxication manslaughter in the 2013 incident that killed Mary Nancy Encinias.

Ware initially pleaded not guilty in August, but recently switched his plea to guilty and asked for community supervision instead of jail time.

Intoxication manslaughter is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.

"I'm guilty of the offense that I was charged with," Ware testified Thursday in response to a question asked by his attorney, Bill Kelly. "I'm a (expletive) for what I did."

Ware said it was his choice to admit guilt and that his lawyers tried to talk him out of it.

Crash Details

At 12:37 a.m. July 27, 2013, Ware ran a red light at the intersection of Southeast Ninth Avenue and South Pierce Street and struck Encinias' 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, according to security camera footage.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Ware initially told police Encinias ran the red light and missed another truck by 14 inches.

Police records show Ware smelled of alcohol and officers noted he slurred his speech and staggered when walking. Ware refused to let officers test his blood.

Ware said he has no recollection after the moment of impact and only remembers getting booked into Potter County jail hours later. He bonded out of jail that morning.

Probation Violations

Assistant defense attorney Audrey Mink questioned whether probation was a good fit for Ware, who was convicted in 2011 for driving under the influence and also admitted to drinking alcohol while on probation.

Ware also failed the ignition interlock device on his car six times and drove a work vehicle that had no ignition interlock system in violation of his probation, prosecutors argued.

Civil Lawsuits

The Encinias family has won a civil lawsuit against General Motors for a faulty airbag that didn't deploy in the crash. They also sued Crush, Butlers, Skooterz and the Circus Room, the bars Ware visited the night of the accident.

The Encinias family's attorney in those cases, Jesse Quackenbush, said he discovered through interviews that Ware consumed about 28 alcoholic drinks before the accident.

"The real shame here is that the family is really disappointed in the prosecution's efforts," Quackenbush said.

"It has taken two to three years for a simple DWI prosecution. This lady was a pillar in the community and was six months away from retirement. It looks like special treatment on its face."

Ware's Testimony

Kelly presented pictures of Ware's children, nieces and nephews and paintings Ware had been doing in therapy.

Ware — the son of William Ware, an Amarillo banking icon who died in 2012 — said he learned in alcohol rehabilitation that alcoholism is a disease. He told the jury he is a "loss of control" type of alcoholic who will go without a drink for days and then binge drink and lose control.

Ware said he had continued to drink and blamed changes in the Affordable Care Act for making it too expensive for him to buy prescription medicine that prevents alcoholics from drinking.

"The biggest demon I have is not being able to apologize to Mrs. Encinias and ask for forgiveness," Ware said through tears during the trial on Wednesday. "The pain I put that family through is very hard to deal with, and not being able to apologize makes it worse."

"God intervened that night, and I know she is up there and I've tried to talk to her. I hope there's some good to come from this event."

Case Timeline

• July 27, 2013: Fatal crash at intersection of Southeast Ninth Avenue and South Pierce Street
• July 16, 2011: Previous wreck causing power outage and hospitalizing four people
• September 28, 2011: Convicted of DWI charge
• 2016 (February): Sentenced to 15 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter

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