By Billy Davis

A 20-year-old who died early Sunday morning in a one-vehicle automobile accident was likely intoxicated when he wrecked, Sheriff Otis Griffin said Monday.

The small pickup driven by Armando Juares-Reyes rolled over in a tight curve on Eureka Road just after midnight, said coroner Gracie Grant-Gulledge.

Juares-Reyes was thrown from the truck and transported by ambulance to Tri-Lakes Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Gulledge said.

Gulledge would not comment about a cause of the wreck, saying only that a toxicology report is pending.
Griffin, citing deputies’ reports from the scene, said he believes the toxicology report will confirm the driver was intoxicated.

“The first people on the scene told deputies he was still holding a beer bottle even after he was thrown from the truck,” the sheriff said.

A second official, also familiar with the Sunday morning wreck, said it was likely a DUI-related fatality.

The Panolian reported 11 months ago that Juares-Reyes was ticketed for a DUI-second after he flipped a Chevy pickup in a dangerous curve on Bell Road in the Eureka community, landing in the front yard of the Jason Moore family.

Juares-Reyes had been returning from Enid Lake with two passengers. He registered a .18 when he was tested for alcohol consumption. The legal limit for adults is .08.

His one-vehicle wreck last September kicked off two nights of roving roadblocks by sheriff’s deputies that resulted in 49 citations, including eight DUI arrests, around Enid Lake.  

Funeral services for Juares-Reyes are Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Wells Funeral Home Chapel in Batesville.  
Visitation is today from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Wells.

Juares-Reyes was a member of the U.S. Army National Guard and will be buried in the Veterans Section of Forrest Memorial Park.