MIDLAND, Texas (Nexstar)- A Midland man is behind bars after a drunk driving crash that left one off-duty Midland Police officer injured. Kevin Alejandro Sanchez-Hernandez, 19, has been charged with three counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, a 2nd degree felony.
According to an arrest affidavit, around 2:00 a.m. on March 20, a hit and run investigator with MPD was dispatched to La Cantina, a bar located at 200 E Florida Avenue after an off-duty officer, working a security job, called to request help. She said there had been a “serious crash”, that she had been hit by a car and needed an ambulance.
When the investigator arrived at the scene, he found a crash involving three vehicles. The off-duty officer told the investigator her knee was badly injured in the crash.
The driver of one of the vehicles, identified as Sanchez-Hernandez, as well as the off-duty officer were then taken to the hospital for care.
The investigator then reported to the hospital to speak with Sanchez-Hernandez. The teen told the investigator he had been drinking at La Cantina. He said even though he was underage, he felt he was able to get into the bar because he “looked older than he was”. It is unclear if anyone at the bar asked for identification. The teen said he had three beers as well as four shots of Tequila while at the bar.
He then told police when he was leaving the bar, someone tried to fight him. He said the people opened his car door and tried to hit him, which is why he drove away. He did not recall much beyond that, according to the affidavit.
The investigator then went to speak with the off-duty officer who had been providing security for the bar. She was treated for a knee injury, as well as multiple scratches and cuts on her hands.
After speaking with the suspect and victim at the hospital, the investigator then returned to the scene and met with another off-duty officer who had been working security along with the injured officer. That officer said he and his partner were advised of a disturbance in the parking lot just ahead of the crash and that they saw a black Ford Mustang speeding toward them just before the crash.
Investigators then reviewed surveillance video from the parking lot and saw the Mustang, driven by Sanchez-Hernandez, leave the parking lot. The investigator said, “None of the people seen in the security video seem to pay any mind to…Mustang and he leaves without incident.”
The video showed that after the Mustang exited the parking lot, a fight broke out in the parking lot. Shortly after, the Mustang re-entered the parking lot. At that point, a few people did get near the Mustang, but, according to video, no one tried to open the door of the car as the suspect earlier said.
The video then showed the two off-duty officers approach. At that point, the Mustang “rapidly” accelerated toward the officers. According to the affidavit, the Mustang hit a white SVU in the parking lot before hitting the officer and then hitting the building.
The investigator wrote in the affidavit, “Sanchez-Hernandez stated that he drove away to escape a disturbance, but it was clear from security footage that he had the opportunity to leave the bar without incident.”
Sanchez-Hernandez was later booked into the Midland County Detention Center where he was still listed in the jail roster as of Wednesday morning. He is being held in a $150,000 bond.