SAN ANTONIO — Arthur Hugo Ruiz was sentenced to 12 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter with a deadly weapon more than a year after a fatal drunken-driving crash in San Antonio, according to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office. The sentence stems from a collision that killed 24-year-old Victor Manuel Zarate-Avila in the early hours of March 8, 2025.

The crash occurred just past midnight at the intersection of West Travis and Northwest 24th streets near West Commerce Street, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Ruiz, while intoxicated, drove his Chevrolet Silverado past a stop sign and collided with a Nissan Sentra carrying two people. Zarate-Avila was ejected from the Nissan and died as a result of the crash, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner.

Ruiz fled on foot following the collision and was arrested a few blocks away, according to a San Antonio Police Department preliminary report. He admitted to officers that he had been driving while intoxicated, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Ruiz was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on the day of the crash, according to the preliminary report.