Sixty-eight-year-old Oneida Guerra was struck and killed on Saturday as she stood on U.S. Highway 83.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the 18-year-old driver of the Chevy pickup, Adalberto Barron, was using his phone while driving.

Barron reportedly drove his vehicle off the road and struck a Nissan Sentra that was exiting a driveway. After that, the vehicle continued on until it struck a fence and crashed into two pedestrians who were standing next to a silver Buick SUV.

The crash happened around 1:25 p.m.

Oneida Guerra was rushed to a local hospital, where she was declared dead.

Meanwhile, Barron now faces charges of manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He was booked into Starr County jail on Saturday. His bond had not been set as of Sunday afternoon.

 The DPS will continue its investigations into the accident.

In Texas, it’s not illegal to hold your phone while driving. However, reading, writing and sending electronic messages like texts or emails is prohibited. Some local areas have stricter laws that ban all cell phone use.

The penalty for texting and driving is a fine of between $25 and $99 for a first offense.  For subsequent offenses, the penalty increases to between $100 and $200.

Around 25 percent of crashes involve distracted driving and using a cell phone while behind the wheel is a form of distracted driving.

The National Safety Council says distracted drivers using cell phones cause 1.6 million crashes each year.

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