Plea to be entered in hit-and-run

A 27-year-old Gardnerville woman is to enter a plea Nov. 10 in district court to allegations she struck a pedestrian and left him lying injured on the side of the road.

Melissa Rose Hernandez waived a preliminary hearing in East Fork Justice Court on Wednesday. Her lawyer, Kris Brown, said Hernandez was to plead to failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury.

In exchange for her guilty plea, a misdemeanor charge of failure to use due care was to be dropped.

Hernandez is accused of hitting Cayle Hanson, 32, with her pickup truck shortly after 11 p.m. on July 22 near Lutheran Bridge in Gardnerville and leaving the scene.

According to reports, Hanson suffered broken ribs, cuts and bruises and lay by the side of the road for nearly 30 minutes before he was seen by two teenage boys on their way home.

The boys called 911 and Hanson was taken by CareFlight to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where he was treated for seven broken ribs, a torn spleen, fractured arm, dislocated shoulder and a punctured lung.

He was released after several days in intensive care and has medical bills totaling more than $100,000.

After a story appeared on The Record-Courier's Web site Aug. 4 about the accident and the search for the driver, the highway patrol received an anonymous tip about Hernandez.

Troopers transported Hanson to Hernandez's workplace where they matched up his injuries to the damage on her vehicle. Hanson's wife also retrieved a broken side mirror from the accident site that matched one missing from Hernandez's vehicle.

Hernandez's attorney, Kris Brown, asked EnEarl to restore her client's driving privileges so she can look for employment.

"Nowhere else, is that clear?" EnEarl said.

The judge said she could drive from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., but only to look for work, or to and from her job.

He rejected a request from prosecutor Erik Levin that she not be allowed to have passengers.