20 Years in Prison for Texas Wrong-Way Drunken Driver

A Fort Worth jury has decided a drunken driver travelling the wrong way on an interstate highway last year when he slammed into a tanker truck, killing the truck driver, should spend 20 years in prison.

Louis Nieves received the maximum punishment Wednesday for his conviction on charges of intoxication manslaughter.

Forty-five-year-old Alejandro Raya was killed in March 2011 when his truck exploded in the wreck. He was married and father of three.

The accident occurred on Interstate 30 east of downtown Fort Worth.

Nieves told television station WFAA he got behind the wheel of his pickup after drinking 10 beers and was responsible for “a real bad accident.” A video of his TV interview was played for jurors at his trial.