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2 Of 4 Suspects Charged In Valet Death Hit & Run

Written by Brian Maass

DENVER (CBS4)- Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has formally charged two people in connection with a deadly crash on Jan. 22 that killed Jose Medina, 21. Charges against the other two will be filed on Monday.

Prosecutors accuse Norma Vera-Nolasco, 31,  of being drunk behind the wheel and said she confessed to what happened to two friends.

Vera-Nolasco, was charged late Thursday with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, two counts of vehicular homicide, and criminal impersonation.

She was arrested in Phoenix, has waived extradition, and is expected to be returned to Denver within the next two weeks.

According to an arrest warrant in the case, the night of the crash, Vera-Nolasco called a friend "stating she had hit something because the side mirror was dangling."

The friend said the woman "sounded intoxicated over the phone."

Another friend told police investigators that two days after the hit and run,

Vera- Nolasco told her that "she had left a club on Saturday night and hit something on Lincoln. When she saw the news coverage of the collision and the pickup in the videos, she realized it was probably her that killed the pedestrian."

Three other people associated with Vera-Nolasco are facing felony charges.

A spokesperson for the Denver D.A.'s office said each of the other suspects either destroyed evidence in the case, hid Vera-Nolasco's truck or tried to help her leave the country.

Eliu Montes-Garcia, 18, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, vehicular homicide, and two counts of accessory to crime. He remains in custody with a $150,000 bond.

Montes-Garcia will appear in Denver County Courtroom 2100 on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 10:30 a.m. to be formally advised of the charges.

Yolanda Bastida-Nolasco, 43, will be charged Monday with two counts of accessory to crime and criminal impersonation. She remains in custody on $20,000 bond.

Guadalupe Bastida, 48, will be charged Monday with two counts of accessory to crime. He remains in custody on a $7,500 bond.

Authorities said all four were in the U.S. illegally.

A truck that investigators suspect was driven by Vera-Nolasco struck and killed Medina in front of the Rockstar Lounge on the 900 block of Lincoln Street late Jan. 22.

CBS4 also obtained Aurora police reports that show in August of 2009, Vera- Nolasco was involved in another hit and run case as she was driving the same truck.

In that incident, she backed into another car in a restaurant parking lot then left the scene. She was cited for unsafe backing and no insurance. Police said that while she had no insurance at the time of the accident, a month later, by the time police caught up with her, she had obtained insurance for her truck.

A private funeral for Medina was held Friday.

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