WAS COUNTY POLICY IGNORED IN GUS REYNA CAR CRASH?

By Juan Montoya
Cameron County District Attorney investigators are said to have found the damaged parts to a 2011 Ford Expedition used by Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Gus Reyna that had to be replaced after he allegedly crashed into another vehicle in an unreported accident about two weeks ago.
Late Wednesday, sources close to the probe asserted that the discarded parts to Reyna's county-issued vehicle had been recovered from the Ramiro Partida Auto Body Shop, 1555 S Sam Houston St., in San Benito.
They also confirmed that damaged parts from the other vehicle involved in the collision were also recovered.
Efforts to get documented confirmation from the D.A.'s office and the sheriff's department as to location, exact date and time, and the identity and condition of the occupants of the other vehicle were unsuccessful.
The discarded parts that were found, sources say, provide tangible proof that not only did Reyna sustain a collision with another vehicle, but that the $5,700 price tag to fix the vehicle indicated that the crash was severe.
Now investigators are trying to determine whether the failure by Reyna to file a police report at the time of the crash, his failure to be tested for alcohol and/or drugs after the collision, and his and the department's failure to follow county policy may result in disciplinary action or in charges being filed against the longtime lawman and sheriff department's second-in-command.
Sheriff Omar Lucio said that at the time Reyna collided with the other vehicle, he was away from the city and did not learn of the accident until days after it happened. As chief deputy, Lucio is Reyna's immediate supervisor.
"I was out of town and didn't find out about it until I came back," Lucio said. "But when we found out about it we read him the riot and and told him that if there were any future incidents like this it would be ground for suspension or for termination," Lucio said. 
According to the county's policy manual relating to Post-Incident Drug and Alcohol Testing Procedures:
An employee shall submit to drug and/or alcohol testing if he is involved in a vehicle incident, and whether or not he receives a citation for a traffic violation arising from the incident. (Click on graphic to enlarge)
The policy further states that the employee involved in the accident shall immediately notify an appropriate law enforcement agency of the incident (if one has not already been notified), and shall thereafter notify his departmental dispatch office or supervisor that an incident has occurred. A drivers supervisor shall direct the driver to submit to drug and/or alcohol testing within two (2) hours after the incident, provided that the testing will not adversely affect and/or interfere with the driver's medical treatment, if any. If a test was not administered on the driver at that time frame, his supervisor shall prepare and maintain a record stating the reasons the test was not properly administered." 
As far as he and his department are concerned, Lucio says the investigation and disciplinary action related to a two-car accident is history.
Lucio released few details on who Reyna had crashed into with his county-issued Ford Expedition or where it happened, but he did say that Reyna had paid the cost of fixing both vehicles from his own pocket and did not tap into the county's insurance policy.
Although the sheriff did not venture to mention a dollar amount, other sources say that the cost of the repairs to the county vehicle totaled more than $5,700. There was no information available on the payments made to the occupants of the other vehicle or what the extent of the damage it received as a result of the collision.
Other county sources indicate that after the collision with the identified motorist, neither Reyna nor county personnel notified law enforcement than themselves or filed a report, but instead made arrangements with the other motorist to pay for damages to the vehicle. They further state that Reyna and Lee Lozano, the county mechanic supervisor, originally requested and received a purchase order form the county auditor to pay for the repairs that they later withdrew.
Sources say that the county personnel did not require a tow truck to remove the county-owned vehicle from the scene of the accident, but pulled it instead to a county facility.