Another slap in the face to American victims from Texas’ radical justice system.
A Travis County judge on Tuesday slashed the bond for Solomun Weldekeal-Araya — a foreign national and 18-wheeler driver — from $1.2 million down to a jaw-dropping $7,000, despite his role in a tragic crash that left five people dead, including a child and a baby.
The deadly pileup occurred last month on Interstate 35 in North Austin, involving 17 vehicles and 17 people, resulting in fiery devastation and multiple injuries.
Victims and their families are now pursuing more than $150 million in damages — but for the Travis County judicial system, the perpetrator gets a wrist slap and a ticket to walk free under laughable conditions.
Weldekeal-Araya, who was initially charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault, allegedly failed a field sobriety test, with officers citing classic symptoms of central nervous system depressant use — bloodshot eyes, mumbled speech, and swaying.
However, subsequent testing revealed no drugs or alcohol in his bloodstream, prompting Democrat judge Tamara Needles to lower the bond.
The intoxication charges are stemming from what prosecutors are arguing is sleeplessness. They also claim anti-depressants might be to blame.
According to KVUE, the bond agreement now requires Weldekeal-Araya to:
- Avoid driving commercial vehicles
- Surrender travel documents
- Wear a GPS monitor for only 90 days
- Submit to random urine tests
- Check in with Pretrial Services
Weldekeal-Araya’s attorney, Bristol Myers, initially filed a motion demanding his client’s immediate release or a drastic bond reduction to just $7—one dollar per charge, CBS Austin reported.
Myers claims there’s no longer probable cause to justify the charges, pointing to newly submitted lab results that allegedly show no traces of drugs or alcohol in Weldekeal-Araya’s system.
Travis County DA José Garza, a far-left activist backed by George Soros-aligned groups, praised the police but had little to say about the victims’ families or the reckless decision to release Weldekeal-Araya under such weak supervision.
Independent journalist Sarah Fields reported that Araya is an asylum seeker on a work visa who barely speaks English and is employed by a network of questionable LLCs currently under investigation by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that according to public records and whistleblower claims, Araya was driving under a Texas-based company called ZBN Transport LLC. The company shares a physical address—9180 Forest Lane, Apt. 202, Dallas, TX—with at least a dozen other transportation LLCs registered in the same North Dallas apartment complex, each under slightly different names or unit numbers.
One of those names, Bay Area Lines LLC, even appeared on a truck inspection record just a day after ZBN was flagged—suggesting a pattern of companies swapping names daily to dodge regulatory scrutiny.
Industry insiders claim that while occasional business name changes aren’t unheard of, daily swaps signal red flags. “This kind of name-flipping is used to reset inspection scores, hide violations, and continue operating dangerous equipment with impunity,” one trucking compliance expert noted.
Adding fuel to the fire, Araya, who is reportedly on a visa from Ethiopia, was previously cited for going 63 in a 30 mph zone, an offense that should have jeopardized his CDL. Records show he had a court date scheduled just a week after the fatal crash.
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