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Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, age 18 of Freeport, entered his guilty plea on Wednesday, June 5 for the August 2023 incident, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
At approximately 2:20 a.m. on the morning of August 7, 2023, Bonilla Gutierrez was driving drunk and speeding east on Hempstead Turnpike when he ran a red light near Westminster Road.
Original Report - Teen Drives Drunk, Kills 6-Year-Old In West Hempstead Crash: DA
The victim’s car, a Toyota Corolla, was parked in the right lane of Hempstead Turnpike with the hazards on.
Bonilla Gutierrez crashed into the back driver’s side of the Corolla, sending it off the road and into a tree.
The force of the crash caused significant internal injuries to Katerine Vanegas Hernandez, who was 6 years old. Her 5-year-old brother’s spine was fractured in the crash, and the driver, the children’s mother, suffered multiple broken ribs.
Hernandez was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after. She was just two days from her seventh birthday.
Bonilla Gutierrez’s car, a Nissan Pathfinder, flipped multiple times.
Police found empty beer cans in and around his car at the scene of the crash. He was arrested and taken to a local hospital for a broken nose and ribs.
One hour after the crash, Bonilla Gutierrez’s blood alcohol content was at 0.17 percent.
According to District Attorney Anne T. Donelly, Hernandez’s mother, who has not been identified, “had taken her children out for an early-morning drive to help them sleep and cool down from the summer heat.”
“Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez was more than two times the legal limit for alcohol when he flew through a red light and slammed into the back of a Toyota Corolla…We continue to implore motorists not to drink and drive this summer.”
Bonilla Gutierrez pleaded guilty to the following:
- Manslaughter, second-degree;
- Assault, second-degree;
- Assault, third-degree, two counts; and
- Driving while intoxicated per se.
At his sentencing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, he is expected to receive six to 12 years behind bars.
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