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| CREDIT: Caspar Benson/Getty Images/fStop A man has been jailed following charges that stem from a crash that left two people seriously injured on Christmas Day, 2015 in Dover, Ohio. Cruz Hernandez-Hernandez has been indicted on two charges of aggravated vehicular assault, two charges of vehicular assault, and two charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them. He has been accused of driving over the centerline of N. Tuscarawas Avenue and into a truck that was being driven by Frances Taralla. Her husband, Joseph Taralla was in the front passenger seat. He is now deceased. The head-on collision left Frances with four broken or damaged neck vertebrae. She also had limited movement of her head and left arm. "This guy, he nearly killed me. My left leg came out of the socket. My hip was broke. My pelvis was crushed. My liver was sliced." In December, 2016 Frances was using a wheelchair, only able to walk a little. Joseph Taralla was left with a broken left wrist and had permanent bruising. He passed away on January 8th this year. On the night of the crash, the suspect told police his name was Carlos G. Diaz DeJesus. He was claiming to be a 32-year-old Canton resident. Not unlike other drunks, he was kept behind bars for eight hours, then he was released. A year after the crash, Frances placed responsibility on Dover police for not keeping him in custody, as he had never been found again, and never had to answer for his actions. Over five-and-a-half years after the crash, police caught a break in the investigation. A New Mexico man was claiming someone stole his identity and Social Security number to work at a Strasburg business. "We got with the company and got the employee information for the person using his name and Social Security number." With help from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), police tracked the suspect to New Philadelphia. They interviewed him and a fingerprint identified him as Hernandez. "That's what they had him in the system for because he was deported several times in the past," Strasburg Police Chief David Warrick said. Tuscarawas County Prosecutor Ryan Styer said, "Only when we booked him on the Strasburg ID fraud case did we realise his fingerprints came back to the 2015 crash." Hernandez was deported due to an aggravated vehicular homicide case that left Pedro Miguel Baltazar dead in 2000. He was filed under the name Roberto E. Lopez. The case was dismissed without prejudice. It has been reported that Hernandez has been operating under many aliases. This indictment is being filed under the names of Roberto E. Lopez, Alex Hernandez-Hernandez, Carlos G. Diaz DeJesus, and Cruz Hernandez-Hernandez. "It's circling around to where this guy has to answer for what he did," said Warrick. He is also being charged with identity theft under the same four names. |
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