March 3, 2015
(McKinney, Texas) – Christopher Chensky, 50, of Wylie, received 14 years in prison for Intoxication Manslaughter, announced Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis.
In the early morning hours of July 1, 2009, about 6 months after his DWI conviction in Tarrant County, Chensky left Wylie intending to drive back to his home in Grand Prairie. Intoxicated on prescription pills, he became lost and ended up northbound on Central Expressway. Traveling 63 miles per hour near the Parker exit, he failed to brake, and crashed into the back of a moving car. The tragic collision caused the victim’s car to spin sideways and slam into a steel support beam along Hwy 75. The crash sent Chensky’s car into the parking lot of Zenna’s Bar and Grill where his car smashed into two other unoccupied vehicles before coming to a stop against a telephone pole. The victim was extricated from her car and flown via Care Flite to Parkland Hospital. The victim suffered a severe head injury and never regained the ability to walk or talk. Due to these injuries, she died 18 months after the crash.
On February 25th, Chensky pleaded guilty to a jury without a plea bargain. Pleading guilty to a jury is more commonly known as a slow plea. During the punishment phase, the State introduced evidence that Chensky had a prior DWI conviction from January 2009 in Tarrant County. He had also been involved in four additional crashes. The jury sentenced Chensky to 14 years, out of a possible 20, and assessed a $10,000 fine.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Rebekah Perlstein and Cynthia Walker. They were aided by District Attorney Investigator Dale Dowdy. The case was investigated by the Plano Police Department’s Jesse Muse, Terry Pauley and Kevin Sasso. District Judge Scott Becker presided over the case.
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