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A 22-year-old Mission resident who said he ran over a man, who was lying in the middle of the road, because he had no choice now faces charges for not stopping to render aid resulting in death.
Authorities arrived around 11:35 p.m. Saturday, June 15, in the area of 6 Mile Road near Mission in response to a crash involving a pedestrian.
At the scene, police found a man later identified as Mario Romero Hernandez lying on the ground “approximately 50 feet north of 6 Mile Road on Texan Road,” according to a criminal complaint.
Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies attempted to provide medical care to Hernandez who was surrounded by “a pool of blood.” They applied a tourniquet to the victim’s left leg and right arm.
Hernandez died four days later, on June 19.
Authorities said the person who reported the incident didn’t witness what occurred nor did another bystander.
Jose Machain, 22, the driver of the vehicle that ran over Hernandez, spoke to police at the scene and said he initially drove home rather than stop and help the victim.
Machain said he was on his way home from his aunt’s house when he approached North 6 Mile Road and saw what he at first thought was roadkill on the ground.
He said it was too late to avoid hitting Hernandez once he realized it was a man lying in the middle of the street. Machain said Hernandez was also using his cellphone while he was on the ground, and was in a position where Machain couldn’t veer left where there was oncoming traffic, or right because he didn’t want to risk running over his head.
Instead, Machain said he ran over the man’s stomach and compared it to driving over a slight speed bump, according to the complaint.
After running him over, Machain drove home and returned to the scene with his mom.
In the complaint, the responding deputy requested an arrest warrant for Machain, noting 13 minutes had elapsed from the time that he hit Hernandez and returned.
“Mr. Hernandez was left injured on the roadway and bleeding for at least 13 minutes. I was dispatched to the crash at (11:30 p.m.) and I arrived at (11:35 p.m.). Mr. Machain had the means to call 911 as he admitted to making a call to his uncle. Mr. Machain also admitted to knowing the subject laying on the ground was a person. Mr. Machain could have remained on the scene and attempted to provide aid to Mr. Hernandez,” the complaint stated.
Machain was booked on Wednesday and released two days later on a $10,000 bond.
