GLENDALE, Ariz. — A year and a half after a crash left Jeremiah Washington as a double amputee, life has continued to be difficult.
“He feels like a lost soul,” said Belinda Welch, Washington's mother. “There’s days where Jeremiah is happy, then there’s days where he breaks and just cries.”
Welch said her son can’t fully heal as the suspect accused of causing her family so much harm is not facing the punishment they feel he deserves.
“The number one concern for Jeremiah was that there was no DUI charge added,” the mother said. “He got a plea deal and nothing for driving intoxicated.”
Washington was injured on June 25, 2022. He was standing at the back of his brother’s car, getting something out of the trunk, when Jerry Odogui Hernandez crashed into the then 23-year-old, pinning him between both vehicles.
Washington was rushed to the hospital but doctors couldn’t save either of his legs. They both had to be amputated above the knee.
Hernandez was arrested and suspected of driving under the influence.
He has a history of driving drunk. He spent four months in prison for aggravated DUI, one of four felony convictions on his criminal record.
At the time of the crash, Hernandez was driving on a suspended driver’s license, officials said.
Glendale police submitted several charges against Hernandez, including for DUI. But this month, prosecutors agreed on a plea deal, charging Hernandez only with one count of aggravated assault with a serious physical injury, and one count of endangerment.
“I’m upset about this whole thing,” Gregory Welch, Washington's father, said. “I don’t understand how, with all his criminal record, that’s all they charged him with.”
Washington’s parents disagreed with the result of the plea deal and wanted Hernandez to face a new DUI charge.
“This individual is a repeat offender,” Belinda Welch said. “I don’t want him to get out and do this again.”
Benjamin Taylor, a criminal attorney who doesn’t represent the family, said what the prosecutor did in this case is routine.
“A lot of the time the prosecutor charges you with the higher amount of felony,” Taylor said. “The assault charge is easier to prove and a lot of times they don’t waste their time on lower amount charge.”
Meaning, that the charges on the plea deal have more punishment than the DUI charge, as that is a misdemeanor.
“We want to see the maximum sentence,” Washington’s mother said. “We want him to pay for everything that he’s done.”
The combined charges Hernandez plead guilty to carry up to 16 years behind bars, but the plea deal calls for him to get a five-to-seven-year term in the Arizona Department of Corrections. Hernandez’s driving privilege was also revoked, according to the plea agreement.
A judge will decide Hernandez's sentence on Jan. 8.
“I want him to remember what he’s done to my son every day until he takes his last breath,” Belinda Welch said.