Upshur County mom went to jail for drunken driving that injured three children

GILMER, Texas (KLTV) – An Upshur County woman has pleaded guilty to three counts of driving while intoxicated with a vehicle with a deadly weapon and driving while intoxicated with a child passenger with a deadly weapon. Each of these counts applies to each of her three children who were injured in the wreck, according to a news release from Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd.

Breanna Rena Simmons, 32, was driving on Turkey Road in Upshur County when she struck a tree. Neighbors in the area said they saw her red SUV “flying” past their homes on March 29. Simmons crashed the vehicle into a tree, seriously injuring all three of her children, including an unrestrained toddler. The impact was so great that her SUV’s engine was thrown from the vehicle into a ditch on the other side of the road. She was traveling 60 mph at the time of impact, Byrd said. The posted speed limit was 25 kilometers per hour.

Simmons was found to be intoxicated, and approximately three hours after the crash, her blood alcohol level was 0.18 grams of alcohol per 100 ml.

Simmons received five years on each of the three charges, for a total of fifteen years. Byrd said she must serve at least half of the sentence before she is eligible for parole.