Taylor man sentenced for 2022 wreck that killed two locals

GEORGETOWN — A 42-year-old Taylor man received a 40-year sentence behind bars for his role in a wreck that killed an Elgin couple in 2022, according to court documents.

John Crayton Jr. was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle, a second-degree felony, on Nov. 15, in connection with a collision that resulted in the deaths of Christopher Ali Vassef, 38, and Leonora Naomi Soriano, 39.

The accident occurred Sept. 5, 2022, in the 600 block of S.W. Carlos G. Parker Boulevard at the intersection of FM 973 in Taylor and involved four vehicles, investigators said. According to prosecutors, Crayton drove his 2005 Dodge pickup while intoxicated and failed to stop at a red traffic signal. His truck struck a 2013 Toyota Avalon, driven by Vassef, as Crayton entered the intersection traveling north on 973.

Both Vassef and passenger Soriano were pronounced dead at the scene, according to previous reporting by the Taylor Press, sister paper of the Courier.

Crayton was arrested again on Nov. 4, 2022, in the 200 block of Yemen Road in Taylor on warrants out of Williamson County charging him with two counts of bond revocation related to the intoxication manslaughter charge, officials said.

Crayton’s incarceration on the 40-year sentence in a Texas prison started Nov. 15, with 86 days already served, according to court documents.