An investigation into a fiery crash on Fairview and Shore roads
that killed three Hollister teens in October should be complete
next month, and that is when the California Highway Patrol will
decide if the only survivor will face any theft charges related to
the accident.
Hollister – An investigation into a fiery crash on Fairview and Shore roads that killed three Hollister teens in October should be complete next month, and that is when the California Highway Patrol will decide if the only survivor will face any theft charges related to the accident.
CHP investigators have been working on reconstructing the exact details of the accident and the events that led up to it, said CHP Officer Brad Voyles.
“We can’t charge her until we have a completed report, if we charge her at all,” Voyles said. “We do know she was only a passenger. Was she involved with some of the stuff prior to? We’ll find that out in the report.”
Vanessa Jimenez, 13, Albert Andrew Hernandez, 13 and Armando Limas, 16, died after fleeing from a CHP officer in a stolen Jaguar and crashing into a power pole at Fairview and Shore roads. The force of the collision caused the vehicle to explode into flames. The survivor was ejected from the vehicle but the three other teens were trapped inside where they died from smoke inhalation, burns and blunt force trauma, according to the coroner.
The survivor was thrown through the windshield of the car and suffered a fractured vertebrae, facial lacerations, a collapsed lung and burns to one side of her body.
The survivor, a 13-year-old girl who is not being named because she is a juvenile, was released from the hospital last month and is recovering from her injuries, according to Hernandez’s father, Albert Hernandez.
The girl’s family could not be reached for comment Thursday and the hospital doesn’t release information about patients for confidentiality reasons.
Hernandez said at first the girl didn’t remember anything about the accident, but has started to remember some details. The Hernandez family hasn’t been able to sit down and talk with the girl, but would like to in the future, he said.
“We’re giving it a little more time. She can’t stop thinking why she was the only one that survived,” Hernandez said.
According to the CHP’s initial investigation, Jimenez and the surviving girl stole a 2002 Jaguar from a friend’s mom sometime in the early afternoon of Oct. 5, picked up Limas and Hernandez and took the car on a joyride through Hollister and surrounding cities in the hours leading up to the accident.
Assorted diamond jewelry was also reported stolen by the Hollister resident who owned the stolen car, but the CHP is unsure whether jewelry found in the car is the same jewelry reported stolen from the residence, according to the CHP.
Hernandez said if the investigative report reveals the girl participated in the thefts, he believes some type of punishment would be appropriate.
“If she knew she was in a stolen car I don’t see why she would include someone else,” he said. “She could have stopped her friend or gotten out of the car and not been involved.”
Jimenez and Limas’ families did not return phone calls Thursday.
Hernandez said the past couple months have been tough as the shock of his son’s death wears off and the cold realization that he’s never coming back sinks in.
“We’re trying to go out of town (for Christmas),” he said. “It doesn’t hurt as much being somewhere else.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
