Emily Hernandez, 22, may face charges of driving while intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
A 22-year-old Missouri woman charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated after causing a crash that killed a mother, authorities said.
Emily Hernandez was driving her Volkswagen in the wrong direction on Interstate 44 in Franklin County around 7 p.m. on Wednesday when she crashed into a Buick, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Victoria Wilson, 32, a passenger in the vehicle hit by Hernandez, was killed, and her husband, Ryan Wilson, 36, who was driving, suffered serious injuries, police said. He was transported to Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
The report said that “both vehicles swerved to avoid each other.” The front right of Hernandez’s vehicle struck the front right of Wilson’s car, according to the report. While Hernandez's vehicle came to rest in the right lane facing west, Wilson’s vehicle went into the median and struck the cable barrier. When EMS arrived, Victoria Wilson was pronounced dead.
Hernandez may face charges of driving while intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury, the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrest report said.
Franklin County Prosecutor Matt Becker told CBS St. Louis affiliate KMOV-TV that charges from the accident will come after the toxicology report comes back. Becker has not yet responded to Inside Edition Digital's request for comment.
Ethan Corlija, one of Hernandez's lawyers, told Inside Edition Digital that it was “much too premature to speak with any certainty on any charges that will be filed.”
“There’s nothing available to us that she was impaired or intoxicated. No evidence has been brought forth, so far,” he said. “The investigation hasn’t been concluded.”
He said Hernandez suffered serious injuries that required surgery. She was released from the hospital on Thursday.
“We don’t know much about the accident right now but from a personal standpoint, Emily is distraught and heartbroken that someone lost their life and someone was injured as a result of the accident,” he told Inside Edition Digital.
Victoria Wilson’s mother Tonie Donaldson told the St. Louis Dispatch that her daughter had “a heart of gold.” She expressed frustration that Hernandez had not been in police custody for her alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack.
"Why is she still out?" Donaldson asked. “With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street?
She added: “At 7 o’clock, you’re drunk and she got on the highway drunk?”
During the Jan. 6 insurrection, Hernandez was allegedly seen standing with the angry mob holding up a piece of a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, the St. Louis Dispatch reported. She was later freed on bond, The New York Post reported.
Hernandez was charged with five misdemeanors after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Corlija confirmed to Inside Edition Digital.
On Monday, Hernandez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, according to Corlija. She faces up to one year in prison. He said a plea agreement was made with prosecutors in exchange for the dismissal of the four other counts.
A GoFundMe was created by Wilson's older sister Angelia Ortiz to pay for funeral expenses and her brother-in-law's medical bills. As of Tuesday afternoon, nearly $28,000 was raised towards their goal of $50,000. Ortiz noted no other fundraiser for the family exists.
