Ex-Hillsborough detention deputy gets 15 years for fatal crash

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Rice demonstrated the lengthy acceleration Daniel Hernandez had made in his Ford Mustang leading up to a fatal crash in a Tampa courtroom on Friday. Hernandez, a former detention deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for causing the crash that resulted in the death of a 65-year-old woman and serious injuries to her husband. Hernandez, aged 40, was convicted by a Tampa jury in September on charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving with serious bodily injury. Apart from the 15-year prison term for vehicular homicide, he also received five years of probation for reckless driving. Hernandez is obliged to complete 1,500 hours of community service, including 120 hours at a trauma center, and his driver’s license will be permanently revoked. The tragic incident occurred on August 20, 2021, when Hernandez, driving his Mustang at over 100 mph in a 45-mph zone, crashed into a Nissan Murano, resulting in the death of Krista Richter and severe injuries to her husband, Peter Richter. Despite scanning the traffic, the Richters did not see the speeding Mustang approaching as they turned left. Krista Richter succumbed to her injuries nine days later. Hernandez, an Air Force veteran who joined the sheriff’s office in 2016, resigned and turned himself in after being charged in April 2022. At the hearing, family members spoke on Hernandez’s behalf, seeking leniency. However, the judge emphasized the severity of the crash and delivered the sentence, taking into account the devastating impact on the Richter family and their loved ones.