Thread: TX: Courtroom moved as couple express anguish

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/16615094.htm

Courtroom moved as couple express anguish

By MELODY McDONALD
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER



HERRERA

FORT WORTH -- It was a Sunday night in April, when Nirza Moncada and her husband noticed a man in a Dodge Neon with a flat tire.

Moncada persuaded her husband to pull over to help the stranded motorist.

It was a random act of kindness that nearly cost Moncada her life.

Minutes later, a drunken driver, whose blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit, slammed into the Neon, trapping Moncada between the Neon and the guardrail.

Moncada's left leg was torn from her body.

"It amputated her leg at the scene," said veteran prosecutor Kelly Loftus. "It is a miracle she lived."

This week -- during a hearing that Loftus described as "heartbreaking" -- Moncada's husband, Andre Alvarez Macias, wheeled his wife through a packed courtroom to the judge's bench.

Through sobs, Moncada told state District Judge George Gallagher how one man's bad choices on the night of April 16 forever changed her life.

Gallagher sentenced Jose Felix Herrera, 27, to the maximum 10 years in prison for intoxication assault. Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Both Loftus and defense attorney Albert Perez said this week that they hope that, if nothing else, the case makes someone think twice about drinking and driving.

"We hear it over and over again," Perez said. "But it's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Don't drink and drive."

Before the wreck, Moncada and her husband had their whole lives ahead of them. They were both 20 years old. She was a waitress; he worked construction.

Now, Moncada is in a wheelchair and unemployed. Her medical bills have put the couple deeply in debt.

"All of their plans for the future were changed in an instant," Loftus said. "Mr. Herrera's decision to drink and drive cost her her leg and destroyed her future."

Officials said the couple were entering Loop 820 Northwest from westbound Jacksboro Highway in Lake Worth when Moncada spotted the stranded stranger and decided to stop and help him.

Herrera, whose blood-alcohol content was 0.19, was driving a two-door 1991 Honda on the way to pick up an uncle.

After Herrera's Honda slammed into the Neon, officials said Herrera ran and tried to hide under the Loop 820 bridge. Witnesses told Lake Worth police where he was, and they arrested him after finding him talking on a cellphone under the bridge.

In November, Herrera pleaded guilty to intoxication assault and agreed to allow Gallagher to assess his punishment. On Monday, the courtroom was packed with attorneys, courthouse workers and other defendants waiting to have their cases heard when the Herrera case was called.

During the short sentencing hearing, Herrera took the stand and, through a Spanish translator, asked for mercy. His attorney pointed out that he had no criminal history and had accepted responsibility.

"It was an unfortunate accident," Perez said Thursday during a phone interview. "They were good Samaritans and he came along and hit them. He was very remorseful and felt very bad about what happened to her. He was just sorry that he can't turn the clock back."

Loftus said that, after Herrera's testimony, the courtroom fell silent as Moncada's husband wheeled his wife to the front of the courtroom. Through a Spanish translator, Moncada tearfully told Gallagher that the wreck changed her future.

At one point, Loftus said, Moncada broke down and her husband tried to continue speaking on her behalf.

"To watch the husband wrestle to keep his composure as he talked about his wife's suffering was heartbreaking," Loftus said. "Each time you ask them about it, they just start clutching each other and sobbing."

Loftus said the people in the courtroom appeared deeply moved by Moncada's words. Many were also moved to tears.

"One of the only positive things is that all of those people heard the god-awful consequences of drinking and driving," Loftus said. "Just one time and you can destroy not only your life but others. When you hear something like that, it sticks with you.

"Who would have thought an act of kindness would end so tragically?"


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Melody McDonald, 817-390-7386 mjmcdonald@star-telegram.com

Everyone but the judge and attorneys appear to be ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in this story. But you won't find THAT phrase in this sob story from the pro illegal immigrant Star Telegram!

They are loose on American streets everywhere. I wonder how many illegal aliens kill us by drinking and driving.

Dixie

Jaded, you don't have to quote articles. Just include the link and it will be good to go.

Dont jump to conclusions all we know is that they are Latinos and Herrera is not a citizen.

Originally Posted by Richard

Dont jump to conclusions all we know is that they are Latinos and Herrera is not a citizen.

Ok, point taken, BUT the fact that they needed interpreters has THIS American strongly leaning towards the possibility that they are illegals. Old Disney proverb: If it walks like a duck, it quacks like a duck and it looks like a duck,.....IT'S PROBABLY A DUCK.

With all due respect, saying Herrera is "not a citizen", IMO is no different than MSM using the term "undocumented immigrant". I guess I am just not PC enough.

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/8770318/detai ... w&psp=news

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A good Samaritan has lost her leg after trying to help a stranded motorist Sunday night.

Nirza Moncada, 21, and a male friend stopped to help a driver change a tire on his Dodge Neon after the tire suffered a blow out on the access road to westbound Interstate 20 near Jacksboro Highway shortly after 8:30 p.m.

Moncada, who was standing between the stranded car and the guard rail, was pinned between the two when a passing motorist in a 1991 Honda sedan collided with the Neon.


Witnesses to the crash said a man ran from the Honda and hid underneath the bridge on I-20. The man, Jose Felix Herrera, was chased by onlookers who later reported his location to responding officers from the Lake Worth Police Department, police said.

Officers said Herrera, 26, exhibited signs of intoxication by alcohol and was found in possession of a small amount of marijuana. He was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth after complaining of shoulder pain. He was treated and released into the custody of the Lake Worth Police Department.

Moncada was transported by Careflite to Parkland Hospital in Dallas where she is now listed in stable condition after losing her leg.

Herrera has been arraigned and charged with intoxication assault, a third-degree felony. Herrera is being held on $25,000 bond. Herrera, who is believed to be an illegal immigrant, is also subject to a hold from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Anything less than citizenship would allow Herrera to be deported. Seems Herrera was not able to produce documents. There would be no other reason for him to be subject to a hold.

Gallagher sentenced Jose Felix Herrera, 27, to the maximum 10 years in prison for intoxication assault. Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Okay...so this lady has to live without a leg for the rest of her life and this guy gets five years in prison, which really means, like two years in prison? I am shaking my head in disgust!

Originally Posted by Neese

Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Okay...so this lady has to live without a leg for the rest of her life and this guy gets five years in prison, which really means, like two years in prison? I am shaking my head in disgust!

He's sentenced to ten years. Looks like five will be served before a parole hearing. I'd imagine the victims will have a say in the parole hearing and this guys going nowhere for ten years.

Originally Posted by loservillelabor

Originally Posted by Neese

Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Okay...so this lady has to live without a leg for the rest of her life and this guy gets five years in prison, which really means, like two years in prison? I am shaking my head in disgust!

He's sentenced to ten years. Looks like five will be served before a parole hearing. I'd imagine the victims will have a say in the parole hearing and this guys going nowhere for ten years.

I'd like to think he'd get at least ten years too, but our prison system is so overcrowded, I think that he will serve much less time than we expect him to. I wish I had some stats on this kind of thing because I think that the American public would be disgusted at the result.

Originally Posted by Neese

Originally Posted by loservillelabor

Originally Posted by Neese

Herrera must serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole and will be deported to Mexico afterward.

Okay...so this lady has to live without a leg for the rest of her life and this guy gets five years in prison, which really means, like two years in prison? I am shaking my head in disgust!

He's sentenced to ten years. Looks like five will be served before a parole hearing. I'd imagine the victims will have a say in the parole hearing and this guys going nowhere for ten years.

I'd like to think he'd get at least ten years too, but our prison system is so overcrowded, I think that he will serve much less time than we expect him to. I wish I had some stats on this kind of thing because I think that the American public would be disgusted at the result.

They would be. It's not only the prisons, but the whole justice system. Systems in my state allow felons to just stay out there until it's too late to prosecute. If it wasn't for the illusion of law enforcement created on TV crime shows it'd be a free for all out here. I'd say crime has better odds than casinos these days.