An alleged DUI driver stands accused of a drunken 88 MPH crash in Hayward that killed his 20-year-old passenger, seriously injured his own son, and left another passenger comatose. Though oddly, he was released from jail.
Last March 7 at around 10 pm in Hayward, there was three-car rollover crash caused by a suspected DUI driver, who police say was driving 88 miles per hour on Hayward Boulevard, and with a blood alcohol content of .23, about triple the legal limit. The crash killed that driver’s 20-year-old passenger Elizabeth Fuentes, injured the driver’s four-year-old son to the extent that the kid needed 12 staples in his head, and injured his third passenger to the point that she was comatose and suffered from paralysis.
Armando Hernandez Benitez,20,charged by @AlamedaCountyDA w/gross veh. manslaughter while intox. & DUI (.23, nearly 3X legal limit) in 3-car rollover crash in March at Hayward Blvd & Civic that killed passenger Elizabeth Fuentes,20,& hurt 2 others, incl.his 4yo son,per @HaywardPD pic.twitter.com/JJ07KUOcUs
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) December 11, 2025
Now, a full nine months later, the Alameda County DA has finally gotten around to charging that driver, 20-year-old Armando Hernandez-Benitez, with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and numerous counts of DUI, according to the Bay Area News Group.
So the 20-year-old Elizabeth Fuentes was killed immediately, the four-year-old son was seriously injured, and according to police reports, the unidentified 18-year-old third passenger would “become comatose” and “suffer paralysis” from her injuries. Though curiously, the accused DUI driver Hernandez-Benitez has remained a free man for most of the last nine months.
“He was arrested after the crash but then released from jail, records show,” the Bay Area News Group reports. “He is not in custody and has not yet had his first court appearance, according to public records. The charges were filed on December 10.”
The deceased victim, Elizabeth Fuentes, is seen here. “She was very loved and cherished by the whole family, and this sudden loss caught them by surprise,” says a GoFundMe set up for her family. “She was a loving sister, cousin, niece, aunt, and most importantly daughter, she grew up a Hayward native, supported by her Dad, mother, older brother and sisters, and as an older sister herself for her younger siblings who would always come to her with open arms.”
Image: Steve D via Yelp
