46 18
years for crash that took out a father, mother, daughter
A Bandera man has pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter in connection with a 2024 crash on Texas 46 that killed a family of three, Kendall County prosecutors said Friday.
Carl Sidney Galm, 60, entered the plea April 10 in Judge Kirsten Cohoon’s 451st state District Court as part of an agreement supported by the victims’ surviving family members, according to the Kendall County District Attorney’s Office.
Galm was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined $10,000. Prosecutors said Galm must serve at least nine years before becoming eligible for parole. He had no prior criminal history, court records indicate.
The charges stem from a head-on collision Oct. 29, 2024, on 46 West. Investigators said Galm was driving a Ford F-250 westbound after leaving Boerne when the crash occurred about 7:45 p.m. more than six miles outside of town.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, multiple witnesses reported a long line of traffic behind an 18-wheeler.
Investigators said Galm attempted to circumvent the line of vehicles in a no-passing zone on an uphill curve, crossing a double yellow line.
Authorities said Galm drove around at least five vehicles before his truck collided head-on with a Toyota Corolla driven by Roger Louis Waid.
Investigators said Galm was traveling 93 mph just seconds before the impact.
Waid, his wife Patricia Ann Waid and their teenage daughter Blake Lynn Waid died at the scene.
At the time, Galm was taken to a San Antonio hospital with minor injuries. A blood test revealed no drugs nor alcohol in his system.
“The 18-year plea agreement reflects the gravity of the unjustified risks taken that evening,” according to a prepared released from the District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation was led by the DPS with assistance from the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, the Boerne Fire Department, the Pipe Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Kendall County Emergency Medical Services and Bandera Emergency Medical Services.
The case was prosecuted by Steven Belt and Derly Chapa.
“The 18-year plea agreement reflects the gravity of the unjustified risks taken that evening.”
— Kendall County District Attorney’s Office
GALM
