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Drunk driver kills teenager in Turlock
Students, community honor memory of Freida
Freida memorial
A memorial honors the life of 14-year-old Freida Pineda on Monte Vista Avenue at the site of the car crash that claimed her life on Friday (KRISTINA HACKER/The Journal).

A suspected drunk driver is believed to have caused a two-vehicle collision in Turlock Friday night that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old girl and serious injuries to two other people.

The Turlock Police arrested Kevin Solis Hernandez, 21, of Turlock on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence causing death or serious bodily injury. He was booked into Stanislaus County Jail. Hernandez has since bailed out of jail. He has an arraignment set for Jan. 16, 2019 in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Kevin Solis Hernandez
Kevin Hernandez Solis

The deceased was identified as Freida Pineda, an eighth grade student at Dutcher Middle School. The names of the two injured parties have not been released at this time.

Around 7 p.m. Friday the Turlock Police Department responded to the scene of a reported collision in the 100 block of E. Monte Vista Avenue.

The first officer to arrive at the scene found a white Toyota sedan with two occupants inside the vehicle and a female juvenile, later identified as Freida, who had been ejected from the car. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The second juvenile female was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. The third occupant, an adult female, was airlifted to an area hospital with life threatening injuries. Both are currently in stable condition, according to the police department.

The second vehicle, a black Toyota truck, was located a short distance away where it had collided with a carport and a parked vehicle after the initial collision.

Hernandez was outside the truck and told officers he was the one who had been driving.

Hernandez has minor injuries, according to the police department.

The loss of a classmate has been felt on the Dutcher campus, where students tied yellow ribbons around trees in her honor. The school has had grief counselors from Jessica’s House on campus since Monday and will have them remain through the end of this week and return after winter break if needed.

“Our sincere condolences and thoughts go out to the family and friends of our student,” Turlock Unified School District wrote on their Facebook page.

TUSD employee Kristin Bettencourt started a GoFundMe page to help the family with funeral expenses.

“Freida was polite, outgoing, fun, loved sunflowers and her favorite color was light blue,” Bettencourt wrote. “She was a devoted, loving and loyal friend who was always up for an adventure. Freida's mom and family are completely heartbroken and wrecked with grief. Her friends all are heartbroken as well and trying to process this loss at a very young age.”

The GoFundMe page is available at https://www.gofundme.com/freida?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_co_shareflow_m

An account is also being set up at F&M Bank for Freida’s family.

The Turlock Police Major Accident Investigation Team responded and took responsibility for the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to call Detective Tony Argueta at 668-5550 ext. 6738.