Anais Hernandez: Vegas woman arrested for letting teen do fatal skateboarding stunt while holding on to her car
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: A woman who let a 15-year-old boy ride his skateboard while holding on to the side of her car moments before he was crushed to death has been arrested. On May 13, 2022, Anais Hernandez was a passenger in the car when Anthony De La Torre was run over. She claimed it was a dangerous stunt and refused to take the wheel but then let a drunk pal get behind the wheel instead.
Destiny Jimenez, who was 19 at the time, began driving down Forsyth Street while Torre held on from the outside. At some point, he suddenly fell from his skateboard and got caught under the car. Hernandez later told police it "felt like we ran over a bump." The teen succumbed to his injuries on May 17, with his cause of death listed as multiple blunt force injuries and deemed accidental.
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Hernandez, who reportedly had a felony warrant out for her arrest on charges of child abuse/neglect, was taken into custody on Wednesday, April 5. Jimenez was arrested shortly after the teen's demise last May and charged with reckless driving resulting in death, DUI resulting in death, and driving without a valid driver's license. Jimenez -- who was later identified by Torre's relatives as the teen's aunt -- admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana not long before getting behind the wheel. Authorities said she also didn't have a driver's license. Responding officers on Forsyth Street found Jimenez crying before she told them how the teen had been skateboarding while clinging to the front passenger door of the Jeep when he fell and was crushed under its wheels.
Vehicle belonged to Anais Hernandez
Investigators later found the vehicle was owned by Hernandez, who had been driving earlier that day with Jimenez in the passenger seat and four juveniles in the backseat. Torre had reportedly asked her if he could ride his skateboard while holding onto the side of her vehicle while it was moving. Hernandez told the teen the stunt was not safe and that she wouldn't drive if he was going to do it. At that point, Jimenez told Hernandez she would take the wheel and so they switched seats before Torre began skating alongside the car. It's worth noting that Hernandez did not face charges at the time.
'I won't ever see him again'
"It's really difficult to come to terms with my nephew never being here again," Torre's aunt Lydize Lopez told KLAS-TV. "It's hard to wrap my head around that I won't ever see him again. Because of a mistake that somebody made." The teenager's loved ones used the tragedy to remind others to stay sober. “I understand we are in Las Vegas,” Lopez explained. “But I see stories all the time about people drinking and driving or hitting somebody.” Family members said they would continue to demand justice for Torre's death while cherishing the memories he gave them. “I love him to the moon and past the stars,” his heartbroken sister told the outlet.