http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 238685.htm

Posted on Wed, Nov. 23, 2005

`He needs help,' town's Latinos say

News of fatal crash, charge rattles friends, acquaintances

FRANCO ORDONEZ

fordonez@charlotteobserver.com


LAKE CITY, S.C. - Members of the Latino community here characterized Jorge Hernandez Soto on Tuesday as a hard-working man who made a terrible mistake and now needs help.

Oscar Correa, a Salvadoran construction worker, said he ran into Hernandez Soto last month at a party. Correa said Hernandez Soto asked about Correa's family in El Salvador and spoke of his own in Mexico and a desire to see them.

Correa told the Observer he's known Hernandez Soto casually for about three years and called him "a good person."

"This is a terrible tragedy," he said. "He should not have been driving, but we can't undo what's happened. He is a human being; now he needs help."

Hernandez Soto faces charges that include driving while impaired and second-degree murder. He is accused of driving a Ford Expedition against traffic on Interstate 485 at speeds topping 100 mph before smashing into a Nissan 350Z driven by a UNC Charlotte freshman, Min Chang, who was killed in the crash.

About 6,500 people live in Lake City, about 130 miles southeast of Charlotte, nestled in tobacco country. Estimates of the local Latino population range from several hundred to a couple of thousand, according to staff at Marianita's Tienda Hispana, a business that serves as a restaurant, convenience store, movie rental shop and clothing store.

Most are Mexican seasonal workers, who pick tobacco, cucumbers and sweet potatoes.

News of the tragedy came as a shock to the Hispanic community.

Santos Hernandez-Mendez, who is unrelated but has some mutual friends with Hernandez Soto, said too many Latinos end up behind the wheel after drinking.

"People need to think more," said the 28-year-old Mexican-born box maker. "Think how much his (the victim's) mother is hurting now."