Family and friends of Kiara Valdez and Jahlil Kirkland gather for a balloon release Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, at S.J. Stovall Park in Arlington.
Lillie Davidson
A 34-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to being the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a young Arlington couple in late 2024, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said.
Nathan Vaughn pleaded guilty this week to charges of manslaughter and collision involving death, District Attorney Phil Sorrells said.
Vaughn was traveling between bars late in the evening on Dec. 15, 2024, when his car swerved off the road and struck 23-year-old Kiara Valdez and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Jahlil Kirkland. Valdez and Kirkland were walking home from dinner on the sidewalk along East Lamar Boulevard at the time, and Vaughn did not stop to try to help them.
Investigators determined Vaughn was the driver after media coverage of the crash resulted in a tip, police said.
The tipster told police they had seen Vaughn’s car, a silver Chevrolet Malibu with heavy front-end damage, in the parking lot of a bar. Vaughn was later arrested and charged with the counts of collision involving death.
At the time of his arrest in this case, Vaughn was out on bond for a November 2023 charge of driving while intoxicated, according to Tarrant County court records. On that occasion, Vaughn was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 for Texas drivers.
Valdez’s mother, Nicole, described her as “pure joy” at a balloon release shortly after the crash.
“That crash literally crashed our family’s life,” Nicole Valdez said. “It’s in pieces now, and we’re stuck trying to pick up those pieces.”
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Lillie Davidson is a breaking news reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from TCU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is fluent in Spanish, and can complete a crossword in five minutes.