An Army soldier is accused of killing a Navy veteran and the man’s fiancée after he consumed an excessive amount of alcohol at a gender reveal party and plowed into the couple at a Texas intersection.
Juan Francisco Del Valle Ferrer, 25, was allegedly drunk driving in El Paso on Nov. 2 when he drove his Honda HR-V into a black Mercedes carrying Rick Ballard and Dalia Olivas around 11:37 p.m., according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The couple’s Mercedes then spun out and crashed into a light pole after being hit.
Ballard, a 28-year-old Navy veteran, was ejected from the car with such force that his right leg was severed and found inside the vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KFOX14.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His fiancée, Olivas, a 28-year-old English teacher at Triumph High School in El Paso, was in the passenger seat when she was found by first responders with “serious injuries.”
She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Del Valle Ferrer, a US Army Sergeant based out of Fort Bliss, allegedly reeked of booze when officers arrived on the scene and told them he had consumed “a lot” at a gender reveal party before the accident and then passed out, KFOX14 reported.
Del Valle Ferrer was allegedly wearing the baby blue wristband from the gender reveal party when cops found him at the scene.
He sustained serious injuries in the wreck and was taken to the hospital from the scene.
Del Valle Ferrer allegedly had sped through a red light at an intersection before crashing into the couple’s car, according to his arrest affidavit.
A witness also told police they watched the Honda HR-V accelerate and, without hesitation, drive through the solid red light and T-bone the Mercedes, according to the court documents.
The fatal crash happened about 15 miles away from Fort Bliss.
Both Ballard and Olivas families blasted Del Valle Ferrer‘s “reckless actions” for allegedly getting behind the wheel drunk and killing their loved ones in GoFundMe’s set up for their funeral arrangements.
Ballard’s family said he was “working hard to build a life for himself” and had “planted some roots in Florida, but he came home to El Paso all the time to visit his family and loved ones.”
“His death is too soon, and his entire family could use your love and support,” his family wrote.
Olivas’ sister, Diana Villalobos, wrote on her page that she was “full of life and had a heart of gold,” and the family is devastated by her death.
The principal of Triumph High School, Francisco Chavez, told KFOX14 on Monday that Olivas had been working as an English teacher since 2022.
Chavez shared that the young educator had told him over the summer this would be her last year teaching at the school as she had plans to relocate to Florida with Ballard.
Del Valle Ferrer has been booked at the El Paso County Jail and has been charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter.
He is currently being held on a $520,000 bond.
