A trial that was supposed to bring closure to an El Paso family has been delayed repeatedly, and the mother of the young man killed in the crash says every delay forces her to relive his death all over again. Valeria Mena, the woman accused of running a red light and killing 28-year-old Steven Hernandez in May 2023, is set to face an intoxication manslaughter trial in November.
The case has crawled through El Paso's court system since Mena's arrest, according to KFOX, which reports that investigators said Mena ran the red light that caused the crash that killed Hernandez. Court records cited by the station show Mena had been arrested twice previously for DWI before the fatal crash, and she is now facing what would be her third DWI-related offense. She was charged with intoxication manslaughter and was released on bond in 2025, per the same report.
Steven Hernandez's mother, Lupe Hernandez, has been the most visible voice pushing for accountability as the case drags on. She told the station that the repeated delays have forced her family to keep reliving her son's death, and that every postponement reopens the grief all over again.
A Mother Turns Grief Into Advocacy
Rather than wait quietly for the legal process to run its course, Hernandez founded the Sober Streets Movement, an El Paso-based effort to advocate against impaired driving, according to El Paso Crime Lab. She has said that people must be held accountable for their actions and for continuing to break the law.
The underlying timeline of the crash has been laid out in detail by earlier reporting. KVIA reported that early Sunday, May 21, 2023, Mena was driving a Jeep northbound on Joe Battle Boulevard when she ran a red light at Edgemere Boulevard in East El Paso, hit another vehicle and killed Hernandez, who was a passenger. Arrest documentation described by Law & Crime said Mena admitted to drinking at an El Paso club called 11:11 before getting behind the wheel. She refused two field sobriety tests before consenting to a blood test at a hospital, the outlet reported.
A History of Prior DWI Arrests
KVIA reported bond amounts of $1,000 and $7,000 for charges filed in January 2020 and May 2022, respectively.
Mena had prior DWI convictions before the crash, but the charge she faces is intoxication manslaughter. Under Texas Penal Code § 49.08, it is classified as a second-degree felony, according to FindLaw.
Repeated Trial Delays
The trial has been delayed repeatedly and is set for November, according to KFOX, which noted the case has faced more than three years of legal delays since Mena's 2023 arrest. KFOX reports that the case could still face another continuance if all parties are not ready when November arrives. El Paso's District Attorney's Office was asked what more could be done to speed up the trial but said it cannot comment on open cases, per the station's report.
Hernandez has said she plans to continue her advocacy work regardless of how the case unfolds.
