Trial begins for driver accused in deadly Harris County deputy crash
Omar Jose Alvarado went on trial in the fiery I-10 crash that killed Precinct 5 deputy Katherine Hutson and her 7-year-old daughter, Kacey. Jurors had to weigh intoxication manslaughter.
The westbound I-10 crash that killed Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constable Katherine Hutson and her 7-year-old daughter, Kacey, sent Omar Jose Alvarado to trial July 21. By July 24, jurors had found him guilty on two felony intoxication manslaughter charges.
The collision happened the morning of Nov. 22, 2024, on westbound Interstate 10 near the 610 West Loop in Houston and shut down the freeway for more than seven hours. Prosecutors said the driver was impaired or drunk when the three-vehicle crash happened. Hutson, 46, was an 18-year veteran of the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office and was working an extra job when she and her daughter were killed.
At trial, prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Alvarado was intoxicated and that his driving caused the deaths. The defense’s task was to create doubt about how the wreck unfolded and whether the state could meet that legal threshold with the evidence tied to the scene, the vehicles and the driver’s condition.
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