An Abilene man accused of driving drunk has been indicted in connection with a fatal crash that took a Wichita Falls woman’s life, court records show.
Marc Stephen Deffenbaugh has been charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle in connection with a two-vehicle crash in Petrolia on Aug. 2, 2025, that killed 36-year-old Brittany Michelle Bowman, according to court records and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Deffenbaugh was free Wednesday from Taylor County Jail in Abilene on a $250,000 bond, online jail records show.
Intoxication manslaughter is a second degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
A Clay County grand jury indictment of Deffenbaugh filed June 11 listed the victim as “Brittany Manger” instead of the name released by the DPS at the time of the crash.
She was a wife and mother of three daughters, according to a now closed GoFundMe campaign.
A DPS media release said the wreck happened at 11:45 p.m. at West Benton Street and South Prairie Avenue in Petrolia.
A 2012 Nissan Altima driven by the 36-year-old Wichita Falls woman was traveling northwest on South Prairie and a 2012 Dodge Ram was going northeast on East Benton Street, the DPS said.
The pickup failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection and hit the Nissan, spinning it into a ditch, the DPS said.
Bowman was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, the DPS said. Deffenbaugh was transported to United Regional Health Care System with incapacitating injuries.
Taylor County Jail records show Deffenbaugh was booked into jail on June 23 and released on a surety bond June 24.
Trish Choate is the executive editor for the Abilene Reporter-News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@USATodayco.com. Read her recent work here.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Abilene man indicted in connection with Wichita Falls woman’s death
Reporting by Trish Choate, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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By Trish Choate, Wichita Falls Times Record News | USA TODAY Network
