Police Release More Details About North Austin Wreck That Killed Teen Passenger

NORTH AUSTIN, TX -- Police on Thursday released more details stemming from a wreck last week that resulted in an intoxication manslaughter charge for a driver in the death of his young passenger.

Raymond Anthony Jones, 42, was arrested after a wreck along the southbound frontage road of Interstate 35 at 3:55 a.m. on Aug. 20, Austin Police Department officials said. A police investigation shows the pickup truck Jones was driving slid across the 15000 block of I-35 North near Wells Branch Parkway frontage road after the driver lost control, resulting in a rollover.

His passenger, 17-year-old Jessica Nicole Mugica, died at the scene. Jones was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge Hospital with minor injuries before his arrest.

Referencing an arrest affidavit, the Austin American-Statesman described police finding Jones wedged in the driver's seat of the truck with the dead body of the teen "slumped over" him. Jones told police he had been to a strip club before returning to his apartment in the company of several women, the Statesman quoted the affidavit as reading.

Jones is said to have later driven Mugica back to the strip club to retrieve a friend, the affidavit reads. While hospitalized, Jones told police he instructed Mugica to drive because he was too intoxicated, the Statesman reported, saying she was the one who began driving back to his apartment.

But investigators debunked his version of the story, based on the positioning of Mugica's body at the scene and other evidence.

Various media outlets have reported the nonchalance Jones exhibited when told the girl died. When speaking to police, Jones said the "...old girl didn't make it," KEYE-TV reported. He also said "...can't even remember her name," when the subject of his passenger came up, the news station reported.

Jones told police had had drunk six glasses of Hennessy before the crash, and couldn't even remember where he had been prior to the wreck, KEYE-TV reported.

Jones has since been booked into the Travis County Jail facing a felony charge of second-degree intoxication manslaughter, with a bond set at $100,000. As of Thursday afternoon, no booking photo has been issued.

Police said an investigation into the incident continues. Those with information are asked to call the APD Vehicular Homicide Unit at (512) 974-5594. Tips also can be submitted by downloading APD’s mobile app, Austin PD, for free on iPhone and Android.

Austin law enforcement officials noted the teen's death represents 43rd fatality of 2016. At this time in 2015 there were 65 traffic fatalities in Austin.

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