Complaint: Suspect in Edinburg crash wanted to flee to Florida, potentially under the influence

EDINBURG, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — An Illinois woman charged in a fiery crash that left two people dead was potentially under the influence and wanted to flee to Florida, according to a criminal complaint.

Amanda Bender was charged with two counts of criminal negligent homicide in connection to an April 23 crash that left 29-year-old Sergio Delgado and 43-year-old Jeremy John Hess dead, according to authorities.

At 9:43 a.m., April 23, a trooper was dispatched to a crash at the intersection of Alamo Road and Texas Road. When he arrived, less than 10 minutes later, he saw one vehicle on fire and a deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office administering CPR to a man who had been ejected and attending to a woman who was trapped in a vehicle.

Video from a nearby drive-thru showed a red Ford Escape disregard a stop sign and go through the intersection at a high rate of speed, colliding with the right side of a red Nissan Sentra. The Sentra then struck the back of a brown Cadillac before ultimately striking a metal pole and catching on fire immediately upon impact.

The passenger in the Ford Escape, identified as Hess, was ejected on impact and struck a parked van. The driver of the Sentra, identified as Delgado, died in the car.

The driver of the Escape, identified as Bender, was transported to DHR for medical attention.

A trooper spoke with medical staff, where he was told that Bender was “possibly under the influence,” according to the complaint.

The complaint adds that the red Ford Escape was travelling 85 mph at the point of impact, and Texas Road is a 30 mph speed limit zone.

“[The trooper] was informed from DHR medical staff that Bender wanted to refuse medical treatment and flee the hospital to Florida with her mother,” the complaint stated.

On April 27, authorities filed an arrest warrant and she was placed under arrested at 7:28 p.m. that day.

Bender was booked into the Hidalgo County Jail the following day, where her bond was set at $2 million.

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