A Montgomery County jury convicted Brandon Lee Ferguson, 23, of five counts of second-degree felony manslaughter and one count of second-degree felony aggravated assault at the 9th District Court Feb. 4.

Ferguson was indicted in June of last year on the six counts and eventually pleaded not guilty which sent the case to trial.

Evidence showed Ferguson was speeding in excess of 100 miles an hour on a stretch of SH 249 in Pinehurst when he collided with a minivan carrying five people, killing four and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in his car, according to Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam.

Curtis Edwards, 78, Lloyd Edwards, 83, Catherine Edwards, 83 and Donald Sexton, 60, were killed in the wreck, which occurred at the intersection of Partridge Circle and SH 249 in Pinehurst.

Karla Sexton, 59, was the only passenger in the minivan who survived.

The crash also killed Ferguson’s girlfriend, Kayla Pratorius, 18, who was a passenger in his car.

Diepraam, the lead prosecutor in the case, said witnesses testified during the trial that it appeared as if Ferguson was trying to catch up to a motorcycle when the crash occurred.

The airbag control module, which Diepraam described as the “black box” of a car, recorded Ferguson’s speed in his Chevrolet Cobalt as 135 miles per hour prior to the crash and 117 at the point of impact.

Ferguson could be sentenced to 2-10 years of probation or 2-20 years in prison for the convictions, Diepraam said last week.

The DA’s office filed charges in June after obtaining all the evidence in the accident from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The only survivor in the minivan, Sexton, testified twice during the trial, describing what happened and how the accident has affected her and her family.

In addition to Sexton, several other family members of the accident victims spoke.

“I don’t think there was a dry eye in the courtroom except for the defendant,” Diepraam said of the emotional proceedings. “This is the worst crash in Montgomery County history and the worst racing crash in the state of Texas in terms of number of fatalities and injuries.”

He said Ferguson’s defense attorneys asked for probation and the prosecution sought jail time.

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