Bond reduction denied for woman accused of running red light, intoxicated in deadly crash
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A jail magistrate denied a bond reduction for the woman accused of running a red light and driving while intoxicated after a deadly crash in east El Paso.
Officers arrested 24-year-old Valeria Mena.
Mena had her bond hearing Tuesday morning.
Her bond remains at $76,000.
The judge said she believed the bond set was appropriate based on the circumstances of the offense and for the safety of the community and prior non-compliance.
Mena is accused of driving drunk and running a red light.
The crash happened on the 3300 block of Joe Battle and 121000 Edgemere around 2:53 a.m. on Sunday.
The man who died was identified as 28-year-old Steven Anthony Hernandez.
The officers found that Hernandez was a passenger in a 2010 Honda Accord.
RELATED: Woman accused of running red light, intoxicated in deadly crash in east El Paso
The investigation revealed that the Honda Accord was driving east on Edgemere and entered the intersection of Joe Battle.
At that time, Mena was driving a 2020 Jeep Wrangler north on Joe Battle.
Mena entered the intersection at a red light striking the passenger side of the Honda.
Officers saw a surveillance video from a nearby business that Mena entered the intersection at a red light causing the T-bone crash, according to the arrest affidavit.
Officers said Mena had bloodshot/glossy eyes, was swaying and had an odor of alcohol, and had poor and unsteady balance.
When asked by officers what happened, Mena replied "I don't know" according to the arrest affidavit.
When asked where she was coming from, she replied "My house" and said she was going to her "house."
The officers noticed she was wearing a white paper wristband with red colored stars on her right wrist and a glow stick on her left wrist.
When asked if she was coming from a bar where she needed to wear a wristband, she continued to reply that she was coming from and going to her house.
When asked what she had been drinking she told them she had drank whiskey, beer and shots. She replied "everything" when asked what kind of shots.
At one point Mena told officers, "Let's be honest, yes I've been drinking, yes, I've been drunk, yes" according to the arrest affidavit.
Mena refused to conduct walk and leg stand tests but agreed to provide a blood specimen.
During her arrest interrogation interview, she told detectives she had gone to a rave at the club 11:11 and stated she drank three vodka red bulls. She told police she left the bar around 2 a.m. and tried to drive back home in far east El Paso.
Mena is charged with Intoxicated Manslaughter and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility.
Mena has had two previous DWI's charges in 2020 and 2022.
This is the 23rd Traffic Fatality of 2023 as compared to 28 at the same time in 2022.
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