A suspected drunk driver charged in the vehicular death of one woman walking on a sidewalk in Pacific Beach answered to charges in court on Wednesday.
Nestor Alejandro Hernandez, 22, is charged in connection with the death of an Arizona woman, Vanessa Urbina Aragonez, and seriously injuring her boyfriend, Brian Armenta Zamora, in a DUI crash on Riviera Drive in the Crown Point area shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
A night out in Pacific Beach ended in tragedy for Vanessa Urbina, and her death is weighing heavy on her older brother and only sibling, Eduardo Urbina.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“My first instinct was not to think something was wrong but she’s OK, nothing happened to her, she is my sister, she can’t be touched," Eduardo Urbina said.
Urbina and Zamora were standing outside of their SUV, waiting for an Uber because their truck had a flat, when they were hit from behind by a Toyota pickup truck.
Urbina was pronounced dead at the scene and Zamora had to be rescued from underneath the truck, according to San Diego police. Investigators say Hernandez was under the influence behind the wheel of the truck.
Local
“It’s not fair," Eduardo Urbina said. "Someone just wanted to have one night of fun and destroyed a life because of that it’s not worth it."
Now he remembers his sister in happier times, not yet ready to accept her death.
"The hardest part of this is that it is just after the fact, and just having to have to live without my sister now not being able to call her or talk to her," he said.
Hernandez was booked into San Diego central jail on charges of first-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence. He remains behind bars without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 24.
