Criminal charges against a man accused of being under the influence when he struck and killed 6-year-old Darien Lewis with his truck have been dropped.
Criminal charges against a man accused of being under the influence when he struck and killed 6-year-old Darien Lewis with his truck have been dropped. (Photo: ABC 13)
54-Year-Old Houston Man Who Was Mistakenly Accused of Drunk Driving Had His Charges Dropped
Following the young boy’s death, Pedro Hernandez, 52, was charged with murder and felony DWI in October. In the southwest of Houston, it took place in a parking lot on Leawood. Hernandez allegedly told Houston police that he had consumed alcohol.
Because he was on probation for DWI out of Fort Bend County, he also had an interlock device on his truck. According to a published post by ABC 13, witnesses claimed he repeatedly ran over the boy. On the spot, Hernandez was put under arrest.
Criminal charges against a man accused of being under the influence when he struck and killed 6-year-old Darien Lewis with his truck have been dropped. (Photo: ABC 13)
54-Year-Old Houston Man Mistakenly Accused of Drunk Driving Had His Charges Dropped
Hernandez’s blood alcohol level was actually 0.00, a prosecutor told ABC13, according to the paperwork the Harris County District Attorney’s Office submitted on Wednesday to have the charges dropped due to “insufficient evidence.” Daniel Werlinger, the defense lawyer, claimed that the toxicology report showed no evidence of intoxicants.
Reporter Jessica Willey questioned how they managed to get it so wrong. According to a prosecutor, surveillance footage appeared to show a tragic accident. According to Hernandez, he did not see the child. His defense team and family argued that if he had been intoxicated, he would not have been able to operate his interlock device-equipped vehicle.
Werlinger said that the Hernandez family was “absolutely, stone-cold, 100 percent behind the fact that he was not drinking the day in question.” “Of course, there is a level of vindication,” he added. Lewis had autism, according to the victim’s grandfather, who previously told ABC13 that “somebody’s got to be held accountable.”
