CO-Illegal immigrant didn't cause fatal crash, lawyer says
Illegal immigrant didn't cause fatal crash, lawyer says
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Monday, September 15, 2008
@Special to the Rocky
Francis Hernandez has been arrested nearly 20 times in metro area.
CENTENNIAL — The woman driving the pickup in a triple fatality Sept. 4 in Aurora was at fault in the collision, said the attorney representing the illegal immigrant charged with the deaths.
Criminal defense attorney Kallman Elinoff said Monday he believes Patricia Guntharp, the driver of the Mazda pickup truck, crossed the double yellow line and made an illegal left turn near the intersection of South Havana Street and Mississippi Avenue, causing the crash that took her life, that of her best friend and a 3-year-old boy.
Francis Hernandez, a Guatamalan native who had been arrested almost 20 times in the last five years, faces multiple felony charges in connection with the crash.
"This kid (Hernandez) was in the far right lane and he wasn't expecting this woman to scoot in front of him," Elinoff said.
"If you look at the scene, she crossed four lanes, making an illegal left turn, to turn into the burger joint's exit, before she got hit. She never looked to see if anyone was coming."
Bill Serecky, husband of victim Debbie Serecky, Guntharp's passenger in the truck, said he was outraged at the lawyer's claim.
"Regardless of how fast he was going, it was going to be somebody else's fault," Serecky said. "He was speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and ran through a red light."
A spokesman for Aurora police could not be reached Monday to comment on whether left-hand turns were prohibited at the crash site on Havana.
Elinoff laid the groundwork for his client's defense as the Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers on Monday filed a motion to add nine more charges in the case against Hernandez, including child abuse resulting in death and third degree assault.
The 23-year-old is accused of causing the incident, abandoning the Suburban SUV he was driving and then fleeing the scene on foot.
Hernandez is being held in Arapahoe County Jail on a $350,000 bond on several charges, including three counts of vehicular homicide, eight counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of assault and one count of driving without a legal license.
Chambers said circumstances warrant the filing of additional charges.
"As in all cases, we are working to seek justice for all the victims, their families and the community."
Hernandez, who entered the United States illegally in 1991 at age 5, is accused of broadsiding the truck, killing Guntharp, 49, of Centennial, and Serecky, 51, of Aurora.
Also killed was Marten Kudlis, 3, who was inside a Baskin-Robbins with his mother as the two vehicles crashed and sent metal debris into the ice cream shop.
Elinoff blasted "the piling on" of charges against Hernandez, saying it feeds into a "lynch-mob mentality."
"Justice is not preordained. Justice is only served when all the facts come out and jury makes a decision," he said.
The case has become a flashpoint, highlighting problems with state and federal immigration enforcement efforts and fueling demands for reform.
In making its case against Hernandez, Chambers' office contended his recklessness caused the deaths of the three victims and serious bodily injury to two other bystanders.
"Francis Hernandez unlawfully and feloniously operated or drove the vehicle in a reckless manner," the DA's motion stated. Elinoff said that he is not out to impugn the memories of the victims.
But he insists that Guntharp shares equal blame for the collision because she failed to yield to oncoming traffic.
"What took place at that intersection is a prime example of bad driving all around."
Staff writer Hector Gutierrez contributed to this report.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2 ... _headlines
