08-10-2012, 01:50 AM
San Diego Union Tribune
A mother has been accused of drinking alcohol before losing control of her van, plunging it into a 30ft-deep reservoir and killing two five-year-old girls, including her daughter.
Arlene Hernandez, 22, wept in Chula Vista Superior Court, California on Wednesday as she pleaded not guilty to DUI manslaughter, child abuse and drunken driving causing injury.
Hernandez and a male passenger were able to escape the sinking vehicle but her daughter, Lesette Silva, and five-year-old Guiliana Figueroa could not free themselves and later died in hospital.
killed
![[Image: article-2186029-1475E0C3000005DC-440_306x423.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/09/article-2186029-1475E0C3000005DC-440_306x423.jpg)
killed
![[Image: article-2186029-1475E0C7000005DC-704_306x423.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/09/article-2186029-1475E0C7000005DC-704_306x423.jpg)
![[Image: article-2186029-14791D49000005DC-397_634x351.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/10/article-2186029-14791D49000005DC-397_634x351.jpg)
![[Image: article-2186029-1475CA5D000005DC-139_634x388.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/09/article-2186029-1475CA5D000005DC-139_634x388.jpg)
The car veered down an embankment, flipped over and landed on its roof in this reservoir
Arlene Hernandez, 22, faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted. The judge decided at the Chula Vista Superior Court hearing to keep her bail at $400,000.
A mother has been accused of drinking alcohol before losing control of her van, plunging it into a 30ft-deep reservoir and killing two five-year-old girls, including her daughter.
Arlene Hernandez, 22, wept in Chula Vista Superior Court, California on Wednesday as she pleaded not guilty to DUI manslaughter, child abuse and drunken driving causing injury.
Hernandez and a male passenger were able to escape the sinking vehicle but her daughter, Lesette Silva, and five-year-old Guiliana Figueroa could not free themselves and later died in hospital.
killed
killed
The car veered down an embankment, flipped over and landed on its roof in this reservoir
Arlene Hernandez, 22, faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted. The judge decided at the Chula Vista Superior Court hearing to keep her bail at $400,000.