The driver accused of causing a deadly DWI crash Tuesday evening along South Loop 610 was charged with murder, police say.

John Richard Vasquez, 60, already has three convictions for driving while intoxicated and is now facing up to life in prison after crashing into a 55-year-old man who was changing his tire on the shoulder of South Loop 610, according to the Houston Police Department.

The crash happened in the eastbound lanes of South Loop 610 just before Texas Highway 288 around 7:20 p.m., police said. The 55-year-old man stopped his Ford Taurus in the split shoulder between the mainlanes of Loop 610 and the exit ramp to Texas 288 to change his tire when Vasquez, driving a Ford F-150, allegedly plowed into him and his Taurus.

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Paramedics rushed both Vasquez and the victim to Ben Taub Hospital, where the 55-year-old was pronounced dead. His identity was not immediately released.

Video from KHOU-TV shows Vasquez being loaded into an ambulance in handcuffs. Investigators later determined he was intoxicated, although it was not immediately clear how so.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com