By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A Del Rio woman pleaded not guilty today to a felony charge
stemming from a collision that killed a 29-year-old man last June.
Karen Aida Hernandez was arraigned in state district court today, appearing via Zoom before 83 rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena.
Hernandez stands charged with the offense of collision involving personal injury or death, a second-degree felony.
Hernandez was taken into custody June 6, 2024, following an investigation by the Del Rio Police Department.
Police began the investigation early on the morning of June 6, 2024, after a passerby reported a person lying in a concrete drainage channel just off the roadway in the 1700 block of U.S. Highway 277 in far south Del Rio, an area known locally as Eagle Pass Hill.
Del Rio police officers responding to the passerby’s 9-1-1 call found the body of Del Rio resident Benito Omar Calvillo.
Patrol officers and detectives found debris from a vehicle in the roadway near the area where Calvillo’s body lay and after determining the color and type of vehicle, used license plate reader technology to ascertain the vehicle they were looking for was a black Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Officers located the vehicle and took Hernandez into custody.
Hernandez was indicted by a grand jury in January.
Monday’s arraignment was conducted via Zoom in Cadena’s third-floor office in the Val Verde County Judicial Center on South Main Street. Hernandez appeared on video from the county jail, where she is being held.
At the start of the proceeding, Cadena administered the oath to Hernandez, then asked her if she had received a copy of the indictment, and she said she had. Cadena next asked if her name was correct as it appeared on the indictment, and Hernandez said it was.
Cadena read the indictment, as follows, “The grand jurors for the county of Val Verde, State of Texas, duly selected, impaneled, sworn, charged and organized as such at the January term of the 63 rd Judicial District Court of Val Verde County, Texas, upon their oaths present in and to said court that on or about the 6 th day of June, 2024 and before the presentment of this indictment, in said county and state, Karen Aida Hernandez, hereinafter stated as defendant, did then and there while operating a vehicle, and after having been involved in a collision that the defendant knew was reasonably likely to result in injury to or death of a person, and while knowing that a collision had occurred, intentionally and knowingly fail to immediately stop the defendant’s vehicle at the scene of the collision or as close to the scene of the collision as possible or immediately return to the scene of the collision after initially not having stopped at the scene of the collision, and the collision resulted in the death of Benito Calvillo.”
Cadena then read “Count I, Paragraph 2” of the indictment, as follows; “Did then and there while operating a vehicle, and after having been involved in a collision that the defendant knew had resulted or was reasonably likely to result in injury to or death of a person, and while knowing that a collision had occurred, intentionally and knowingly fail to immediately determine whether a person involved in the collision, and the collision resulted in the death of Benito Calvillo.”
After reading the text of the indictment, Cadena asked Hernandez whether or not she had an attorney to represent her.
Hernandez replied that she would like some additional time to try and hire a local attorney.
Cadena said he will place the case on the court docket for call at 9 a.m. on Aug. 18.
Cadena told Hernandez, “Get your attorney on board as quickly as possible,” also telling her that her attorney would need to file a notice of appearance in the case.
Hernandez mentioned the name of the attorney she said she would try to have represent her, telling Cadena it was her understanding he was out of the area until later this month.
Cadena then told Hernandez he would enter a plea of not guilty on her behalf and advised her not to speak to anyone about the case without having her attorney present.
“Thank you, your Honor,” Hernandez replied.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
