A Leander man has been charged with five counts of manslaughter in connection with a multiple-vehicle collision July 25 on U.S. 281 near Park Road 4 in Burnet County.

Kody Lane Talley, 37, was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 5, by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and booked into the Burnet County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to a DPS media release.

The fatal collision happened in the late afternoon July 25 when Talley, driving northbound in a 2018 Ram 4500 pickup truck pulling a livestock trailer, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Chevy Malibu. That impact caused a second collision between Talley’s truck and a Mercedes SUV, which overturned and caught fire, killing all five occupants.

The DPS identified the victims as Thalia Salinas, Ruby Cruz, Brianna Valdez,

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