How Many Years Can You Get for Intoxication Manslaughter in Arlington?
Quick answer: The two selected Arlington collision prosecutions report Bernida Collins’s 14-year and Erica Larae Kolanowski’s 16-year intoxication-manslaughter terms. The 14–16-year span concerns only two target-count outcomes, two defendants and two independent prosecutions, not a citywide minimum or maximum, an average or a prediction. The assault terms in the same prosecutions are separate counts, not additional cases.
- Lowest observed: 14 years
- Highest observed: 16 years
- Completed cases reviewed: 2
- Range-eligible cases: 2
- Excluded cases: 0
- Evidence reviewed: September 28, 2026
Observed case evidence
| Case | Offense location | Conviction | Final target-offense sentence | Sentence scope | Range eligible? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erica Larae Kolanowski v. State | South Cooper Street and Southwest Green Oaks Boulevard in Arlington, Texas | Intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault | 16 years for intoxication manslaughter and 10 years for intoxication assault, concurrent | Count-specific 16-year intoxication-manslaughter term; concurrent assault term excluded. | Yes | Court opinion reproduced by Justia |
| Bernida Collins v. State | North Collins Street and westbound I-30 service road in Arlington, reported by FOX 4 November 7, 2021; the 2024 opinion does not itself specify the location. | Intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault | 14 years for intoxication manslaughter and seven years for intoxication assault | Express 14-year manslaughter term. The separate assault judgment was modified to correct plea-bargain wording and duplicate costs/fees; both imprisonment terms were unchanged. | Yes | Court opinion: terms and disposition; FOX 4: reported collision location |
Observed range is not the statutory range
The observed range above comes only from the small selected public-reporting sample shown in the table. It is not a statutory minimum or maximum, average, typical result, prediction, plea estimate, or citywide distribution. The statute and sentencing rules applicable on the offense date, the exact count of conviction, criminal history, enhancements, and other case-specific facts control.
Sentence-scope rules
Only a prison term assigned to the target offense or target count is used in the numeric range. Unallocated multi-offense totals, multiple defendants in one prosecution, nonfinal matters, non-city conduct, life terms, probation-only outcomes, and noncomparable sentence types are excluded rather than estimated. Federal and state/local outcomes are never mixed.
Related Arlington sentencing guides
Why the related conviction is separate
The fatal and injured victims support different target-count questions. Compare the Arlington intoxication-assault count outcomes. Kolanowski’s terms were concurrent; the Collins opinion does not specify concurrency, so no all-count total is computed. FOX 4’s contemporaneous report corroborates location and initial charges, not the later convictions or sentence; those come from the appellate opinion.
Methodology and disclaimer
Each range-producing row is a separate completed prosecution with offense conduct inside Arlington, a final target-offense conviction and sentence, and a clickable case source. Read the methodology, editorial standards, and the Arlington sentencing hub. This page is general information, not legal advice.