47-year-old Houston man Brian Tatum has been sentenced to 50 years in prison following a deadly Uber crash that killed two cousins in 2020.
According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Tatum was convicted after a week-long trial. Jurors deliberated for only 39 minutes before presenting the guilty verdict.
In September 2020, Harris County Sherrif deputies attempted to pull Brian Tatum over for running a red light when the man took off from the scene, traveling at the high rate of 100 mph in a 35 mph zone.
While making a left turn, Tatum struck an Uber vehicle.
As a result of the force of the crash, the rideshare vehicle was split in half, killing backseat passengers 24-year-old Diana Salazar and her cousin, 25-year-old Priscilla DeLeon.
The rideshare driver miraculously survived the crash.
Following the incident, Tatum was brought into custody, facing felony murder charges ranging from 25 years to life in prison based on his criminal history.
On February 7, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg addressed Tatum’s criminal history in a letter:
“This is a man with a long criminal history, and he finally did the horrible thing that we worry about when someone continually commits crimes. These two young women, who were being responsible by using a rideshare service instead of driving, should have been safe riding home – they should still be alive.”
ABC13 Houston reported that several members of DeLeon and Salazar’s families were present during the trial and wore buttons with photos of the women to honor them.
“We were all out there that night, and now this family can start to heal, knowing that this man will probably never get out of prison,” Sean Teare, chief of the District Attorney’s Office’s Vehicular Crimes Division, commented on the outcome of the incident caused by Tatum.
“When you see police lights behind you– no matter what you’re doing, stop. Find out what the problem is. In all likelihood, it’s a traffic violation at worst,” Teare shared in a video posted to Twitter.
“But if you run and you do something like this, 50 years is going to be the baseline. You may never get out of prison again.”
