By Tommy Witherspoon

Tribune-Herald staff writer

A 26-year-old West man pleaded guilty Monday in the August 2006 traffic death of a young mother, whose three children were injured in the incident.

Douglas Howard Church is asking a 54th State District Court jury of seven men and five women to assess his punishment after pleading guilty to one count of intoxication manslaughter in the death of Debbie Ruth French and to three counts of intoxication assault in injuries to her children, ages 14, 9 and 5.

Church, who remains in the McLennan County Jail under $200,000 bond, was convicted of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated in 2001 and for driving with a suspended license in 2003. Church is eligible for probation and faces maximum sentences of 20 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and 10 years on each of the assault charges.

Prosecutors Crawford Long and Brandon Dakroub and defense attorney Russ Hunt spent Monday selecting a jury in the case. Opening statements and prosecution testimony will begin this morning.

“I think we’ve got a good jury,” Hunt said Monday, declining additional comment.

Authorities have said that Church had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 after the accident. The legal limit for intoxication is 0.08.

Church was driving east on Farm-to-Market Road 3149 when he reportedly passed another vehicle on a hill and struck French’s westbound vehicle. French, 36, also of West, died at the scene, and her three children were injured.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

757-5737