http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/my ... 498623.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 28, 2005

Fatal car crash victims identified
Alcohol suspected in holiday wreck
By Kelly Marshall
The Sun News

GEORGETOWN - The Georgetown County Coroner has identified three men killed early Christmas Day when their pickup truck crashed in a ditch in the Hemingway community.

Gilberto Hernandez Coca, 29, of Conway; Jose Maria Hernandez, 22, of Conway; and 35-year-old Alberto Mayolo Bimentel died in the wreck, Georgetown County Coroner Kenny Johnson said.

Walter Hernandez, also of Conway, a passenger in the truck, was treated for minor injuries Sunday at Georgetown Memorial Hospital, Johnson said.

A cousin of the crash victims helped identify the bodies after the wreck, Johnson said.

Neither driver Gilberto Hernandez nor the other passengers in the truck wore seat belts, Johnson said.

The men did not have driver's licenses, he said.

The truck was not registered to Gilberto Hernandez, Johnson said.

State highway officials say they think speed and alcohol contributed to the crash.

Gilberto Hernandez lost control of the vehicle, which left the road and hit a tree and a ditch on Williams Hill Road, S.C. Highway Patrol Senior Trooper Sonny Collins said.

Evidence of drunken driving, including some cans and beer bottles, was found in the vehicle, Collins said.

Highway officials did not know if the men were in the country legally, Collins said.

Unlicensed drivers, including illegal immigrants, have caught the attention of politicians and law-enforcement officials in North and South Carolina.

State troopers, traveling with a Spanish-speaking interpreter, are meeting with Latinos in churches and community gatherings along the Grand Strand to better inform them of the laws, Collins said.

Brochures have been printed in Spanish to get more information to a wider segment of the community.

"We have made a special effort in the past year to involve the Hispanic population to update them on the laws and help them get driver's licenses," Collins said.

The efforts to reach the Latino community with important information has been supported by local activists.

"I do think it will help a great deal. It helps us to be aware of the law," said Miriam Berrouet, an activist with Latinoamericanos en Accion.

South Carolina's new seat belt law requiring their use went into effect Dec. 9. Troopers can ticket people $25 for each seat belt violation.

Collins said extra patrols and checkpoints will be in place in Horry and Georgetown counties through this weekend.

Troopers will be looking for evidence of drunken driving and seat belt violations, Collins said.

In North Carolina, politicians are taking a tough stance on drunken driving and illegal immigration.

The N.C. House recently approved a measure to deport any illegal immigrant convicted of drunken driving.

The Republican-sponsored bill targets undocumented immigration at the border and in the workplace.

The Senate is expected to take up immigration reform in February.

House members agreed to an amendment from Rep. Sue Myrick, R-Charlotte, that would deport any undocumented immigrant who is convicted of driving while intoxicated.

Numerous drunken-driving wrecks have claimed the lives of people in Horry and Georgetown counties this year.

Five people, including four members of one family, were killed in an October collision in Horry County.

Alcohol contributed to the crash that killed 27-year-old Marinao Ernesto Topolla of Conway and another man in his vehicle.

The crash also killed Mattie Carrol Grainger; her son and daughter-in-law, Willie Hoyt "Bill" Grainger Jr. and Sheila Whisnant Grainger; and her granddaughter, Chantalle Annette Grainger Boling.

The wreck still is under investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Contact KELLY MARSHALL at 357-9187 or kmarshall@thesunnews.com.