(KRON) — A man accused of killing a driver in a hit-and-run crash in Brisbane earlier this year answered to charges on Tuesday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. Police said 37-year-old Hector Daniel De La Torre Jiminez fled the scene of the fatal crash and went to his place of employment in Atherton.
Torre Jiminez, a resident of Burlingame, pleaded not guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court to felony charges of vehicular manslaughter, hit and run resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident.
The March 24 crash killed a Lodi woman identified by officials as 59-year-old Rosa Maria Baez. Baez had been driving to work around 5:15 a.m. on Bayshore Boulevard when she came to the T-intersection with Van Waters And Rogers Road. While making a left turn with a green light, Baez’s blue Honda was struck nearly head-on at high speed by a red-light runner in a Chevrolet Tahoe, prosecutors said.
The impact of the crash pushed Baez’s vehicle into a light pole, while the Tahoe collided with a second car. Following the incident, the Tahoe’s driver, alleged to be Torre Jiminez, ran from the scene. Baez and the second victim were rushed to an area hospital, where Baez was pronounced deceased.
Brisbane Police Department officers investigating the crash tracked Torre Jiminez to his workplace in Atherton. According to the DA’s office, he “admitted what he had done” to police.
Baez’s loved ones remember her as being “absolutely dedicated to her family,” a verified GoFundMe page states. “She succeeded in being the best mother and grandmother possible” and was “always willing to give you time and encouragement.”
Following Tuesday’s arraignment, Torre Jiminez remains out of custody under the conditions of wearing a GPS monitor, not driving and not leaving San Mateo County. The next court date for a pretrial conference is set for Dec. 15.
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