TEXARKANA, Texas–A Bowie County grand jury on Thursday indicted a Simms man for intoxication manslaughter in connection with a fiery crash in October that took the life of a 36-year-old man.
Caleb Harrison Applegate, 21, is currently free on a $100,000 bond, according to the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office. He faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted of intoxication manslaughter in the Oct. 2 death of Lee Thomas Sellers.
A Texas state trooper responded to the crash scene at about 6:20 a.m. and observed a white 2009 Toyota Tundra with significant front end damage facing southeast on Highway 8, according to a probable cause affidavit. Applegate allegedly hit Sellers’ 1991 Ford Ranger head on while it was traveling south on Highway 98, the affidavit said.
The Ford Ranger flipped and caught fire, becoming fully engulfed with flames with Sellers inside. Sellers was pronounced dead at the crash site.
Applegate was allegedly lying on the tailgate of a truck belonging to a bystander who had stopped to help. When the trooper approached Applegate, he could allegedly smell an odor of alcohol.
Applegate reportedly told the trooper that he had not been driving and that he did not know who had. Witnesses to the crash allegedly disputed that account, telling investigators that Applegate was driving the truck and that they helped him out of the truck. The two witnesses further reported that Applegate was the truck’s sole occupant.
Inside Applegate’s truck, investigators allegedly observed a 12-pack of Coors Light beer in the back seat with six cans that were cool to the touch. An empty can of a margarita beverage was allegedly found in the truck’s glove box and there was allegedly a brown flask that contained an unknown type of alcoholic beverage in the center console, the affidavit said.
Applegate is scheduled for arraignment next month before Fifth District Judge Bill Miller.
Applegate is represented by Texarkana lawyer Jason Horton.