Visalia mother charged with son’s death in DUI crash gets hearing extension

The preliminary hearing of a Visalia mother accused of being intoxicated when she crashed her minivan north of Los Banos, killing her son and injuring her daughter, was postponed until September during a court session Friday.

A Merced County judge and lawyers agreed to extend the hearing for Vanessa Bueno, 33, until 9:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at the Robert M. Falasco Justice Center in Los Banos.

“It was set to give the defense attorney enough time to be in position to move forward with the case,” Deputy District Attorney Travis Colby said.

Bueno’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Tony Green, wasn’t available to comment on the case Friday.

Bueno has been charged with one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in great bodily injury, and two counts of child endangerment with possible great bodily injury, according to court records.

Bueno pleaded not guilty to those charges July 1. She was being held Friday at the John Latorraca Correctional Center in Merced County with bond set at $1 million.

The charges stem from a June 26 crash that killed Bueno’s 8-year-old son, Jordan Bueno. Bueno and her 15-year-old daughter were injured in the crash; a 1-year-old daughter escaped unharmed.

About 1 a.m. that day, Bueno lost control of her 2006 Chrysler Pacifica while driving north on Highway 165 just south of the Salt Slough bridge, police said.

The van veered off the road into a dirt shoulder and overturned, landing in a field east of the highway, according to police.

Jordan was the only one in the car not wearing a seat belt or other restraining device, police said.

According to court records, Bueno’s blood alcohol content after the crash was measured at 0.15 percent, almost twice the legal limit to drive.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Visalia mother charged with son’s death in DUI crash gets hearing extension."