Man charged in fatal DWI is killed by alleged drunken driver
By BRIAN ROGERS Copyright 2009 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 13, 2009, 5:44PM
Harris County Sheriff's Office
Nicholas Hernandez was charged last year with felony murder, accused of killing two people in a drunken driving accident. Hernandez died this week when the car he was in struck a pole and rolled over. The driver, authorities said, was drinking.
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzA Pasadena man charged last year in what authorities said was a fatal drunken driving wreck was killed this week, apparently by a drunken driver.
Nicholas Hernandez, 25, was a passenger in a black Ford Mustang that struck a light pole in the 9100 block of the Gulf Freeway service road and rolled several times Thursday. He was ejected from the car.
Police believe the driver, Jose Resendez, 27, was drinking and expect him to be charged with intoxication manslaughter.
If convicted of intoxication manslaughter, Resendez faces anything from two years’ probation up to 20 years in prison.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Brent Mayr said Hernandez was arrested after the Aug. 3, wreck which killed James Kelleher, 26, and his passenger, 23-year-old Suzanne Penland, who were hit head-on as they drove south on Texas 288.
Mayr said Hernandez was driving a Chevrolet Impala the wrong way on the highway and had a blood alcohol concentration of .30, more than three times the legal limit, when he hit the two friends who were in a Buick LeSabre.
Hernandez was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2002 and again in 2003. Because a third DWI would be a felony, Mayr said Hernandez was charged in last year’s wreck with felony murder, which carries a sentence ranging from probation to 99 years or life in prison. He had been released from jail on $100,000 bond.
Mayr said he was going to ask jurors to sentence Hernandez to life in prison.
Felony murder is a charge that alleges that death occurred as a result of a felony, such as arson or burglary, but in this case, driving while intoxicated for the third time.
