Drunk Driving Suspect Appears in Court

HOUSTON - Harris County prosecutors say a Spring woman was driving drunk at a rate of 100 mph when she caused the death of a mother of four from The Woodlands. Pamela Pugh appeared Tuesday morning before a judge charged with intoxication manslaughter.

Assistant District Attorney Pamela Peden says that Pugh was on the Hardy Toll Road at 11:30 p.m. on May 28, when she smashed her vehicle into the rear of a pickup truck being driven by Cheryl Guberman, 44. This forced Guberman's truck into a concrete wall and then sent it over the edge of the highway where it fell more than 40 feet to the ground.

Harris County Constables say that Pugh called 911 that night to report that another driver cut her off, which caused her to wreck her car. She said that vehicle kept going. At that time, deputy constables arrested her for suspicion of drunk driving. Investigators did not learn until hours later about the vehicle that was forced off the road.

Prosecutors say that Pugh's blood test, taken hours after the accident, showed a blood alcohol level of .19, more than 2 times the Texas legal limit.

It was Guberman's family who found her dead inside her truck early in the morning on May 29. She had been on her way to pick up her son at Bush Intercontinental Airport but never made it. When the family retraced her steps, they noticed crash debris on the highway and saw Guberman's truck had gone over the edge.

When asked if Pugh was remorseful, her attorney Troy McKinney said, "Anytime someone dies, no matter the cause, there's a great deal of concern and empathy towards the family who remains. I can tell you there's a great deal of that here. They wish that family nothing but the best under the circumstances."

Pugh has been released from jail on a $30,000 bond. She is  under the judge's orders not to drive again until further notice. Pugh has one prior driving while intoxicated conviction in 2006. Intoxication manslaughter is a second degree felony. Prosecutors say if convicted, Pugh faces between two and twenty years in prison.