Woman charged year after fatal crash

OKANOGAN, Wash. – A 60-year-old Winthrop, Wash., woman has been charged with causing the fatal crash last November that killed 29-year-old Gerardo Hernandez Velasco, of Bridgeport, Wash.

Beverly C. Jensen was charged with vehicular homicide in Okanogan County Superior Court on Nov. 18, and a summons was issued for her to appear in court.

Prosecutors say Jensen was driving under the influence of alcohol on Nov. 13, 2010, when her Ford Expedition crossed the centerline on state Highway 97 near Pateros and crashed into a Ford F150, in which Hernandez was a passenger. Her blood alcohol level was 0.21, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, the charges state.

Prosecutor Karl Sloan said it took him a year to charge Jensen partly because a vehicular homicide investigation is very thorough and he was waiting for complete toxicology reports.