23-year-old Jerrod Lee Watkins of Orange County was arrested Thursday for intoxication manslaughter in connection with a fatal collision in June that killed 20-year-old Jillian Blanchard.
Watkins faces two to 20 years in prison along with a maximum fine of $20,000 for the second degree felony case. His bond was set at $100,000.
No charges or indictments have been made in connection with the death of 45-year-old Robert James Jackson of Port Arthur. Jackson was a pedestrian whose body was found in Ferry Street in Bridge City four minutes after the fatal collision involving Blanchard.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office Thursday afternoon announced Watkins arrest following his indictment by the grand jury Wednesday.
Bridge City Police Chief Paul Davis told KOGT “I have nothing to give about the case.”
Friends and family of Blanchard and Jackson protested with signs outside the Bridge City Police Department in August to complain about a lack of arrests in connection with the two deaths.
Bridge City police were called to the 4000 block of West Roundbunch Road about 3 a.m. Saturday June 13 because of a head-on crash. Blanchard was driving a Nissan Altima. She was declared dead at the scene.
The other vehicle involved was a Ford F-150 pickup truck. The pickup driver was taken to a Beaumont hospital for treatment of injuries.
Four minutes after the call about the crash, police were called about a body found in the roadway of Ferry Road. Jackson was a pedestrian and had been killed by a hit-and-run driver.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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