Man found guilty in connection with car crash in which unborn child died

SAN ANTONIO – A verdict was reached on Tuesday in the trial of Constantino Tristian-Coronado, who is accused of causing a car accident that resulted in the death of an unborn child.

A jury found Coronado guilty of manslaughter with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and aggravated battery on a public servant.

The charges stem from an accident on the south side in May 2021.

According to the prosecution's argument, Coronado was fleeing the scene of a minor accident he caused near South Zarzamora and Interstate 35 when he collided with another vehicle that had stopped for an approaching ambulance with its blue lights and siren on.

“The force with which Mr. Coronado struck her during his escape forced her to run into the oncoming street, and she was struck head-on by an ambulance traveling in the opposite direction,” the indictment said.

The driver of the vehicle, April Levine, was eight months pregnant and had her one-year-old child in the back seat. Levine, her child and the paramedics involved in the accident sustained injuries, but her unborn son did not survive.

Defense attorneys argued in their opening statements that the crash was an accident, claiming that Coronado was struck in the initial collision and attempted to turn around and return to the scene of the accident.

Coronado's penalty phase begins on Wednesday morning.