MEMPHIS, Tenn — A man facing charges for a July hit-and-run crash in Cooper-Young that left a University of Memphis student dead is now out of jail on bond, according to court records.
Memphis police said a woman who was also in the car has not been found.
Julio Hernandez, 19, has been charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, drivers failure to execute due care, disregarding traffic signal, no driver license, financial responsibility, and leaving the scene of accident involving death or injury. He was released from the Shelby County Jail on Nov. 17 after posting $75,000 bond.
MPD said officers responded to a crash at 12:23 a.m. on Tuesday, July 25, at Cooper St. and Central Ave. Investigators determined a stolen red Dodge Challenger was driving southbound on Cooper St. when it ran the red light at Central Ave., striking 20-year-old Ava Christopher's Chevrolet Sonic, which was traveling east.
She was taken to Regional One Hospital, where she died.
According to an affidavit, Hernandez had been driving 88 mph in a 40 mph zone. The Challenger had been stolen out of Southaven, Mississippi.
On July 6, CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County announced a reward was increased to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver. The additional award funds were raised by family and friends.
According to CrimeStoppers, witnesses said a man and woman in the Challenger got out and quickly and walked south on Cooper without checking what happened to the other driver and leaving the Challenger behind.
MPD later shared pictures of the persons of interest in the case. MPD said the driver was thin and could possibly be in his 20s. The passenger was also thin, around 20-years-old, and was carrying a purse, MPD said.
Court records said that police found video of Hernandez walking away from the crash scene. After further investigation, they found a witness, who positively identified Hernandez as the person in the footage.
On Nov. 16, Police found Hernandez driving a vehicle with the original rims of the stolen Challenger, which had been missing from the stolen Challenger at the time of the July crash, the affidavit said. Police performed a traffic stop and took Hernandez into custody. He later admitted to driving the stolen Challenger at the time of the deadly crash.
Memphis Police said the woman who was in the car at the time of the crash has not been found.