A Georgia National Guard soldier was indicted Monday in Texas on charges of driving intoxicated and accidentally killing a Louisiana National Guardsman last year, according to a probable cause affidavit reported by the McAllen Monitor.
Spc. Bianca Farmer, 25, was driving a rental vehicle on Interstate 2 in McAllen in the early hours of Sept. 5, 2021, with two other soldiers when she lost control of the vehicle, striking a pair of light poles, Army Times previously reported. First responders quickly arrived on scene and pronounced Spc. Nashyra Whitaker, 23, deceased.
Farmer was charged with intoxication manslaughter for the death of Whitaker and intoxication assault with a vehicle after another individual’s arm had to be amputated following the crash, the McAllen Monitor reported.
The soldiers were all assigned to Joint Task Force-North, which consists of more than 3,000 troops from the Guard and other components of the military providing detection and monitoring, logistics and transportation support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Farmer told police she was traveling to a hotel when another car cut her off, causing her to swerve and lose control of the vehicle, according to the McAllen Monitor. She was released after three days in detention on a $190,0000 bond, the local paper reported.
Within hours of the accident, the commander of the Guard task force issued a new policy memo completely banning possession and consumption of alcohol for all Guard troops on the Title 10 border mission. The memo, which was obtained by Army Times, also called for a new curfew between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
“The matter is still ongoing,” said a Georgia National Guard spokesperson when asked about Farmer’s status in the Guard.
Zamone “Z” Perez is a reporter at Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.