Hillsborough detention deputy charged with vehicular homicide
Nissan Murano driven by Krista Richter, who died days after the crash (Photo: Florida Highway Patrol)
TAMPA, Fla. - A detention deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has been charged with vehicular homicide for a deadly crash that happened last August.
The sheriff's office said Detention Deputy Daniel Hernandez, 35, was off-duty and in his personal vehicle, a Ford Mustang, on the night of August 20, 2021.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Hernandez was driving northbound on Dale Mabry Highway when he crashed into a Nissan Murano SUV as it was attempting to turn left onto Sligh Avenue.
The driver of the SUV, 65-year-old Krista Richter, and her passenger, 63-year-old Peter Richter, both of Lutz, suffered serious injuries in the crash. Hernandez, meanwhile, had minor injuries, investigators said.
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Krista Richter died from her injuries nine days later.
Ford Mustang driven by off-duty detention deputy Daniel Hernandez (Photo: Florida Highway Patrol)
FHP traffic homicide investigators took over the case, and concluded that Hernandez had been traveling at speeds up to 109 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
After investigators charged Hernandez with vehicular homicide and reckless driving with serious bodily injury, he turned himself in at the Hillsborough County Jail on Monday, April 4, 2022.
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The sheriff's office said Hernandez did not drive an agency vehicle in his role as a detention deputy.
"The actions of Daniel Hernandez on the night of the crash are inexcusable and not a reflection of the many men and women who work to take aggressive drivers off of our roadways every day," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "Due to the severity of his charges, he has been removed from his position and will remain on unpaid administrative leave as our internal investigation into the crash continues."