CENTENNIAL — The man accused of causing an accident that killed three people, including a 3-year-old in an ice cream shop, will stand trial on 19 charges, Arapahoe County Judge Anne Ollada ruled Monday.
Police say Francis Hernandez, 23, ran a red light and was driving more than 70 mph in a 40 mph zone on Havana Street in Aurora when he hit a pickup that was making a turn into a hamburger restaurant on Sept. 4. The impact sent the truck into an ice cream parlor, where 3-year-old Marten Kudlis and others were inside.
Marten died, as did the driver of the pickup, Patricia Guntharp, 49, and her passenger, Debra Serecky, 51.
“People have described his driving as someone who stole a car,” prosecutor Rich Orman said. “He was weaving in and out of traffic.”
A toxicology report released last week found that Guntharp had high levels of methamphetamine in her system.
But Johnny Lee, lead detective in the case, said Hernandez’s erratic driving led to the deaths and not Guntharp’s state of mind at that time.
“Anything she had in her system does not make a difference,” Lee said. “It does not change the fact that the defendant in this case has responsibilities.”
Hernandez’s defense attorney, Kallman Elinoff, said charges of vehicular homicide against his client should be dropped.
“She was on methamphetamines and she made an illegal turn,” Elinoff said.
Elinoff said Guntharp drove from a turning lane through double yellow lines into the restaurant’s parking area.
But Lee said it is legal in Colorado to turn through double yellow lines when it is safe and someone is exiting or entering a private drive.
Authorities also say Hernandez fled the scene. Later, officer Eric Ortiz testified, Hernandez called his girlfriend, Brenda Aleman, and told her that he had left the scene because he didn’t have auto insurance or a driver’s license.
“At that point he started crying because he believed he had just killed four people,” Ortiz said Aleman told him.
Family members of the victims attended the hearing but did not comment.
Hernandez, from Guatemala, was in the United States illegally and did not have a valid driver’s license. He had been arrested 16 times previously, including for numerous traffic offenses, but was never deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on him, and he will be turned over to ICE officials if he is released from jail.
The district attorney’s office also filed more charges against Hernandez on Monday. He faces 19 charges, including vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving death, and child abuse resulting in death.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
