Guilty Plea Entered in Bicycle Fatality Case

04/02/2010
CONTACT INFO: Charles Branson Douglas County District Attorney 785-841-0211 cbranson@douglas-county.com Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announces Joel C. Hernandez, 22; plead guilty today to charges of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving the Death of a Person (Level 9/Person/Felony) and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (DUI) (Class B/Non Person/Misdemeanor). On October 16, Mr. Hernandez was driving a vehicle near the intersection of Tenth and Tennessee shortly after 2:00 a.m. when he struck Ms. Rachel C. Leek as she rode her bicycle. Ms. Leek, 20, passed later that day As part of his guilty plea, Mr. Hernandez admitted to the Court the extent of his drinking prior to the crime and he was aware shortly after the accident he had struck a person. These admissions would not have come out through the process of a trial as the State would have been unable to force Mr. Hernandez to incriminate himself. No evidence of DUI existed before Mr. Hernandez made his statement to the Court. By accepting responsibility for the crime with a guilty plea, Mr. Hernandez will lose his driver's license through administrative suspension and any future DUI crime will result in enhanced punishment because of this conviction. A Vehicular Homicide charge (Class A/Person Misdemeanor) was dismissed as part of the plea. The charge is the statute District Attorney Branson recently suggested should be rewritten to better guide Kansas prosecutors and judges in its application. This case was another example of where there was little or no court admissible evidence of the defendant's driving behavior before and at the time of the accident. The State worked very closely with Ms. Leek's family throughout the case and only proceeded with their support of the plea. It was very important to her family that Mr. Hernandez take responsibility for his actions. Mr. Hernandez will be sentenced on May 20 at 3:00 p.m. He faces five to 17 months in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections for the Leaving the Scene of an Accident Charge and up to six months in the Douglas County Jail and a minimum $500 fine for the DUI. As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Hernandez has agreed to not oppose the State's request for maximum underlying sentences and he serve at least 60 days in custody on any sentence imposed before starting probation. He has also agreed to not oppose a request for 200 hours of community service work as a condition of probation. -30-

Media Contact:
Cheryl L. Wright - Assistant to the District Attorney
District Attorney's Office
785-841-0211
cwright@douglas-county.com