EDINBURG — A Mission woman accused of hitting and killing a 43-year-old woman with her vehicle while allegedly intoxicated pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday morning.
Sorely Lizeth Niño, 19, was charged with intoxicated manslaughter with a motor vehicle after striking and killing Brenda Belmontes on May 29.
It happened in the 500 block of S. 15th Street at about 2:35 a.m.
Police found a White Claw Hard Seltzer can, an opened Dos XX 24 oz can and two 6 packs of Smirnoff inside Niño’s Ford Taurus, the report said.
The driver of a GMC Envoy told police Belmontes was getting into the vehicle through the passenger side when the Taurus sped by and struck Belmontes and the Envoy. She was found lying in the middle of the road after the impact, according to the report.
The report said Niño cried and told an officer that she didn’t want to drive and that she was sorry she had been drinking.
Niño showed signs of impairment, including bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, and was determined to be intoxicated after an officer conducted a field sobriety test, the report said.
According to the document, Belmontes was bleeding from her ears when paramedics arrived. They managed to find a pulse and transported her to McAllen Medical Center, where she later died of her injuries, which included major internal bleeding to her kidneys and abdominal organs.
Niño had her bond set at $40,000 and made bail June 1, according to jail records.
At Wednesday’s arraignment, state District Judge Israel Ramon Jr. noted that Niño was assigned an alcohol monitoring device for her vehicle after the fatal collision.
She has a following hearing set for Nov. 16.
