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More charges filed against driver in triple-fatal accident
By Tom McGhee
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 09/15/2008 05:14:45 PM MDT


Francis Hernandez, 23, appears in court Thursday to hear the charges against him. (Pool photo )Prosecutors have added child abuse and other charges to the list faced by Francis Hernandez, the driver accused in a triple-fatal accident in Aurora.

Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers today announced nine new charges on top of those filed last week, saying the case warranted them. The latest charges could add up to 62 years to the 78 that Hernandez, 23, already faces for the original counts.

Hernandez's lawyer, Kallman Elinoff, said Chambers has gone overboard and accused her of pandering to the public's emotions.

"It just fuels the flames of hate against illegal immigrants," Elinoff said.

Immigration officials say Hernandez is a Guatemalan immigrant who is in the country illegally. He has a lengthy arrest record that includes traffic violations, driving without a valid license and failures to appear in court.

Police say Hernandez was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban on Sept. 4 when he ran a red light on South Havana Street and rammed into a Mazda pickup truck. The pickup then hit a Baskin-Robbins store. Two women in the truck, Patricia Guntharp, 49, and Debbie Serecky, 51, were killed, along with Marten Kudlis, 3, who was in the ice-cream shop.

Hernandez was charged Thursday with three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of leaving the scene of a deadly accident, among others.

The new charges are one count of child abuse resulting in death; one count of child abuse resulting in injury; three counts of third-degree assault; and four counts of leaving the scene of an accident.

Hernandez has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 10.

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com



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