Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Freeport man was indicted for allegedly killing a six-year-old girl while driving drunk in West Hempstead in August 2023.
Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, 18, was arraigned today before Judge Terence Murphy on grand jury indictment charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a C felony), Vehicular Manslaughter (a D felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), two counts of Assault in the Third Degree (an A misdemeanor) and two counts of Driving While Intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor). The defendant pleaded not guilty, was remanded and is due back in court on January 22, 2024. If convicted of the top charge the defendant faces a potential maximum of five to 15 years in prison.
“Katerine Vanges Hernandez was two days shy of her seventh birthday when this defendant, allegedly drunk and speeding, plowed his SUV into the car she was seated in,” DA Donnelly said. “The force of the impact propelled the vehicle into a tree and sadly, Katerine died shortly afterwards at the hospital. This crash is yet another reminder that drunk driving kills innocent people every day.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, on August 7, 2023, at approximately 2:20 a.m., the defendant was allegedly intoxicated, speeding and drove through a red light when he crashed into the rear of the victim’s vehicle. The victim’s car, a Toyota Corolla, was stopped in the right lane of Hempstead Turnpike, near Westminster Road, with the hazard lights on. The force of the impact sent the Corolla off the roadway and into a tree, while the defendant’s vehicle, a Nissan Pathfinder, flipped multiple times.
Bonilla Gutierrez allegedly slammed into the rear driver’s side of the stationary vehicle, where six-year-old Katerine Vanegas Hernandez was seated, causing significant internal injuries. The child was taken to NYU Langone and died shortly afterwards. Katerine was killed two days before her seventh birthday. The victim’s five-year-old brother suffered a fractured spine, while the driver of the Corolla suffered multiple broken ribs.
The defendant was apprehended by a member of the Nassau County Police Department near the crash scene. Empty beer cans were allegedly observed inside the defendant’s vehicle and next to the vehicle at the crash scene.
Bonilla Gutierrez was transported to Nassau University Medical Center for broken ribs and a broken nose.
Deputy Bureau Chief Katie Zizza of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by Taryn Schechter, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
