Details emerge in 281 wreck arrest
Kody Lane Talley, 37, of Leander was arrested on five charges of manslaughter Aug. 5 in connection with a fatal accident in Burnet County on July 25. Burnet County Jail photo
An affidavit obtained by DailyTrib.com has revealed more information regarding a July 25 collision on U.S. 281 near Burnet that killed five women and led to the arrest of a man on manslaughter charges.
Kody Talley of Leander was booked into the Burnet County Jail on Aug. 5 on a $1 million bond in connection with the multi-vehicle wreck near the Park Road 4 intersection between Burnet and Marble Falls. Talley was driving a pickup truck and pulling a horse trailer at the time of the collision.
According to the affidavit, filed in the Burnet County Court at Law and signed by Texas Department of Public Safety Cpl. Jarek Stuart, Talley was driving “recklessly,” was not licensed to haul the trailer, and did not have an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle, which was required due to previous convictions for driving while intoxicated.
At around 6 p.m. on July 25, Talley was heading northbound on U.S. 281 near the Park Road 4 intersection in a 2018 Dodge Ram pickup truck while hauling a large livestock trailer. He reportedly drove into oncoming traffic and collided with a Chevy Malibu and a Mercedes SUV going southbound. The five occupants of the Mercedes—Thalia Salinas, Brianna Valadez, Desiree Cervantez, Jacqueline Velazco Ventura, and Ruby Cruz—were all killed when their vehicle flipped over and burst into flames.
The women, all from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, were lifelong friends on their way to a lakehouse in Kingsland to celebrate Salinas’ 23rd birthday, according to reports.
“Talley’s conscious disregard for the substantial and unjustifiable risk that existed considering the circumstances was a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under the circumstances,” reads the closing affidavit statement of DPS Cpl. Stuart, who responded to the July 25 wreck.
Talley faces up to 100 years in prison if he is convicted on all five manslaughter charges and given consecutive sentences.
‘RECKLESS’ DRIVING
According to Stuart’s affidavit, Talley confirmed he was the driver of the Dodge Ram in an interview with Burnet County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Car dash camera footage from a witness to the wreck also confirmed that Talley was driving on the wrong side of the road when he collided with the other two vehicles.
Airbag Control Module data pulled from Talley’s truck shows he was accelerating into the initial collision with the Malibu, and the gas pedal was “fully depressed” (pressed down) less than a second before impact.
CRIMINAL HISTORY
In his sworn affidavit, Cpl. Stuart cited two previous convictions for driving while intoxicated on Talley’s record from Williamson County. Those were among 21 other criminal charges in that county between 2008 and 2024, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, running a red light, disregarding a no-passing zone, and operating a vehicle that is unregistered or for an improper class.
Talley is also restricted to only driving vehicles with an ignition interlock device installed, which the Dodge Ram did not have at the time of the collision. The breathalyzer device measures a driver’s blood-alcohol content (BAC). If alcohol is detected on a driver’s breath, the vehicle’s engine will not start.
Talley was interviewed by BCSO deputies after the wreck but left before any official interview with DPS troopers. He was not given a BAC test at the scene.
A statement sent to DailyTrib.com from Sgt. Billy Ray, a DPS spokesman, said the department believes Talley might have “absconded from the scene,” implying he possibly left to avoid a DPS interview.
DailyTrib.com reached out to the DPS and the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office for more details on the case.
“Because this crash investigation is still active and ongoing, no further details will be released at this time,” Sgt. Ray said. “When these details are available for release, we will provide an update.”
IMPROPER LICENSE
Talley also did not have the correct license to pull the livestock trailer. The combined load of his vehicle and the trailer was 24,236 pounds, which would require a Class A driver’s license in Texas. Talley only had a standard Class C driver’s license.
The horses in the livestock trailer reportedly survived the wreck and were released to an authorized party.
DPS was called for on the radio promptly. But the scene was chaotic, DPS may not have been near, and Talley slipped away before DPS got him. Whoever picked him up should be charged as an accomplice.
Thanks for letting us know what is happening with the wreck. My husband got there right after it happened. The hwy was closed for over 2 hours. He saw the aftermath.
Horrible for everyone evolved including the rescue crew. This accident has had me upset since it happened.