Roxanne Palacios pleaded guilty to killing two people and injuring another in a 2022 wrong-way, intoxicated crash
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Roxanne Palacios, the woman convicted in a deadly 2022 wrong-way crash on the Harbor Bridge, was denied parole again on Wednesday as she continues serving her sentence for killing two people and seriously injuring another while driving intoxicated.
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles confirms Palacios will not be eligible to apply for parole until January 2027.
Palacios accepted a plea deal on April 11, 2025, in Nueces County, pleading guilty to two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault with a vehicle.
A judge sentenced Palacios to seven years in prison on each charge, to be served concurrently, with credit for about two years already served.
The charges stem from a Nov. 2, 2022, crash in which Palacios drove the wrong way on Highway 181 over the Harbor Bridge, striking a vehicle driven by Mathew Banda, killing him and his passenger, San Patricio County dispatcher Betsy Mandujano. She later struck another car, seriously injuring Janell Donaho.
Nueces County District Attorney Jimmy Granberry said the plea agreement was shaped by the victims’ families, who wanted to move forward with a civil lawsuit tied to the crash.
According to court records and a civil lawsuit, Palacios had attended a company-sponsored event at the Railroad Seafood & Brewing Co. shortly before the crash and was observed to be heavily intoxicated.