Contra Costa DA files murder, DUI charges against Tracy man who allegedly killed wife in Byron Highway crash
MARTINEZ — A Tracy man who allegedly told police he’d had roughly a dozen alcoholic drinks at a bar before crashing his car on Byron Highway last month has been charged with his killing his wife in the wreck, court records show.
Andre Avaloz, 36, was charged with murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving in the July 15 crash that killed 38-year-old Anna Avaloz. The charges were filed four days after the crash, and Andre Avaloz is set to be arraigned before Judge Patricia Scanlon later this month, according to court records.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Avaloz was going about 85 mph when he lost control of his Chevrolet Suburban at about 11 p.m. and crashed into a drainage ditch near Clifton Court, injuring himself and killing his wife. Avaloz allegedly spoke with officers who arrived minutes after the crash, telling them that he and his wife had been at the Wild Idol Bar in Byron, and that he drank five to six shots of vodka and six to seven beers.
He allegedly told police their night out ended when he got into an altercation with someone else at the bar. He was driving fast, he said, because he believed people were chasing him, according to authorities. Police say the car careened off the roadway while trying to turn on the highway.
Avaloz was briefly hospitalized, but then arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and drunk driving, court records show. Prosecutors opted to charge him with murder after police learned he had two prior drunk driving convictions from 2011, authorities said.
A GoFundMe page by Andre Avaloz’s family member describes Anna Avaloz as a loving mother of seven children.
“Anna did the work of 20 people for this very large household. She worked a full-time job all while ensuring that her babies made it to school, sports practices, programs, and any extracurricular activities,” the GoFundMe page says. “She used her free time to ensure that all of the children got to go somewhere fun and experience new things.”