Punta Gorda woman charged in fatal wrong-way crash

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
Olivia Hernandez (Credit: SCSO booking photo)

A Punta Gorda woman is facing charges stemming from a wrong-way crash in Venice that left one person dead.

Olivia Hernandez, 37, was arrested Thursday by the Florida Highway Patrol in Sarasota.

She faces charges of DUI manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injury and DUI property damage for a Dec. 14 crash on I-75. Troopers say Hernandez was driving south in the northbound lanes between Jacaranda Boulevard and Laurel Road when her SUV collided with another vehicle.

The crash left the 21-year-old male driver of that car dead and his 16-year-old female passenger with serious injuries. They were from Lauderdale Lakes and Pembroke Pines, respectively.

A toxicology examination found Hernandez’s blood alcohol concentration level to be a .133.

Hernandez is currently in the Sarasota County Jail.

The Florida Highway Patrol has not released the names of the victims, citing Marsy’s Law.

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