|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A 19-year-old Edinburg man is set to be arraigned on a charge of accident involving death after he allegedly struck a pedestrian and failed to stop to render aid, according to court documents.
Cruz Fabian Bazan is accused of hitting 22-year-old Helena Liliana Vaquera Pena with his gray 2014 Jeep Wrangler on April 6, 2023, after she ran across the roadway and failed to yield to traffic, according to a probable cause affidavit.
At around 6:40 a.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper responded to an auto-pedestrian crash on Farm-to-Market Road 2812 and Cesar Chavez Road outside of Edinburg.
According to the affidavit, the trooper was informed over the radio that Vaquera was dead. Her father later identified her body.
“It was determined that, Ms. Helena Liliana Vaquera Pena ran across the roadway failing to yield to the right of way motorists and was struck,” the affidavit said. “The driver fled the scene and failed to provide medical attention/aid to Ms.Vaquera, who died as a result of her injuries.”
Aurora Bazan, Bazan’s mother, later called police to inform them that her son was involved in the fatal crash.
Bazan later told police that he was driving home from his girlfriend’s house and was traveling westbound on FM 2812 when he noticed someone on the north side of the road waving him down and yelling at him to stop.
He added that he didn’t stop or slow down because he feared for his life.
Bazan stated that because he was distracted by the person waving him down, he took his eyes off the road for a moment and when he refocused his attention to the road, Bazan saw someone in his lane wearing a green top and hit them.
The affidavit went on to say that Bazan became scared and drove away from the scene, stopped in a neighborhood to check his Jeep and then called his girlfriend to tell her that he hit someone.
Bazan was arrested June 7, 2023, on a $5,000 bond and was released the same day, according to jail records.
He’s scheduled to appear before state District Judge Luis M. Singleterry for his arraignment Monday morning.
