WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — A suspect awaiting trial in a case where he was accused of crashing a pickup truck into a home and killing a teenage girl while he was drunk has killed himself, police say.
Officers were called about the suicide at about 4:11 a.m. Saturday in the 9100 block of Nathan Drive, police say. A caller told police a man had shot himself in his front yard, and upon arrival, officers found the suspect, identified as Donald Gruber.
Police determined Gruber was the same man as the suspect arrested in August 2022 in the crash that killed the girl and seriously injured her father.
Gruber, police say, was set to appear in court later this month regarding the case.
Police initially responded to the crash on Jason Court in a neighborhood near West Loop 820 and I-30.
Gruber, who police say was pulling a trailer with his pickup, lost control, entered a backyard and crashed through multiple bedrooms of the house.
The teen, who was identified as Katey Kirkland, died at the scene, police said. According to the district, Katey was going to be a senior at Saginaw High School.
Her father, Boswell High teacher Kevin Kirkland, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, officials say.
A neighbor said the truck crashed through her wooden fence twice and took out a 20-foot tall tree before crashing through an outer and inner wall in the Kirkland's home.
In March 2023, the family of the victims filed a $1 million lawsuit against Gruber, as well as the passenger, the restaurant that served them drinks and the business owners.
