Fifth District Court of Appeals Justice David Bridges of Rockwall was killed overnight in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 30 in Royse City.
The accident was believed to have been caused by a one-way driver who was intoxicated at the time.
A statement from the Royse City Police Department indicated the wreck occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday on westbound Interstate 30 near FM 2642.
Megan E. Smith, 32, of Royse City, was charged with intoxication manslaughter and was scheduled to be booked into the Hunt County Detention Center. Bond information was not available at press time Sunday.
The statement from the police department added Smith was driving the wrong way in the westbound lanes of the interstate and struck two vehicles, one of which was driven by Bridges. Bridges’ vehicle caught fire and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the second vehicle was uninjured.
Smith was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
According to information from the Fifth District Court of Appeals, Bridges was elected to the court in 1996. He was born in Fort Worth in 1955 and served in the United States Army in 1973 and 1974. He worked at the General Electric Plant to put himself through school at Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler. After graduation, he worked as a Petroleum Landman along the Appalachian Mountain range and left his job as crew chief to attend Texas Tech School of Law.
After graduating from law school, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Smith County and as the Assistant District Attorney in Upshur County. He served as Senior Disciplinary Counsel for the State Bar of Texas and when he left the State Bar, he was First Assistant in charge of litigation for the State Bar of Texas.
He has been Board Certified in Criminal Law since 1989 and Board Certified in Criminal Appellate Law since 2011 and was also a candidate for US Congress for Congressional District 4.
The investigation is ongoing by the Royse City Police Department Accident Investigation Unit.