A Capitol rioter who was caught on camera holding a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on January 6 last year during the U.S. Capitol riot has been charged with driving drunkenly and killing a 32-yaer-old woman. Emily Hernandez, 22, of Sullivan, was arrested on Wednesday night after she slammed her car into another vehicle killing Victoria Wilson on Interstate 44 in Franklin County.
Wilson died at the spot due to the impact of the collision. Hernandez was out on bail for vandalizing the Capitol building on January six but on Wednesday night she was charged again with driving while intoxicated resulting in death on the eve of the anniversary of the US Capitol riot, an arrest report states.
Exactly After a Year
According to police, on Wednesday night Hernandez's car slammed into another vehicle that spun into a median strip and hit cable barriers. Both cars "swerved to avoid each other," according to a crash report shared by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Wilson who was in the other car was killed in the collision.
Wilson was in a 2019 Buick Enclave and her husband Ryan, who was driving the car was seriously injured, the patrol added. Hernandez was not arrested but has now been charged for driving while being intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury, according to an arrest report.
It is not known why she wasn't but her lawyer said that she was admitted to the hospital because she suffered head injuries in the collision. Ethan Corlija, one of her lawyers, said that Hernandez was expected to be released from the hospital on Thursday after receiving surgery, but declined to comment on the charges.
"The exact circumstances of the accident are unclear," Corlija told the WMOV.
No Sympathy
Interestingly, the incident happened on the eve of the anniversary of the US Capitol riot. Hernandez, a farmhand and college student, was accused of five misdemeanor crimes in the January 6 Capitol riot last year — knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct; disruptive conduct; parading or demonstrating in the U.S. Capitol; and stealing, selling or conveying federal property, according to a criminal complaint.
She was caught on camera and pictured surrounded by other rioters as she held smiled and a sign that had hung above Pelosi's office showing her name and title. But she was later freed on bond, which Wilson's heartbroken mom, Tonie Donaldson, called ridiculous on Thursday following the death of her daughter.
"Why is she still out?" Donaldson fumed to the St Louis Post-Dispatch. "With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street?"
"To me, she's a piece of [s**t]. At 7 o'clock, you're drunk and she got on the highway drunk?" she said. She added that her daughter "had a heart of gold," worked with disabled kids and is survived by sons ages 10 and 15.
Hernandez is known to be a desperate woman. Following the Capitol riot last year, she also posted images of herself at the Capitol on Snapchat, according to court documents. Hernandez was scheduled to plead guilty on Monday to at least one misdemeanor charge related to the federal case.
Meanwhile, Wilson who died in Wednesday's crash leaves behind two boys, ages 10 and 15, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
