Illinois woman charged in fiery Edinburg crash that left 2 dead, DPS say

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An Illinois woman is jailed on a $2 million bond in connection to a fiery Edinburg crash that left two dead last week, authorities said.

Amanda Marie Bender, 40, was arrested on two counts of criminal negligent homicide, according to Hidalgo County Jail records.

Bender was arrested for her role in a deadly crash on April 23 on FM 907 and Texas Road, east of Edinburg, the Texas Department of Public Safety stated.

A preliminary investigation revealed that before 10 a.m. on April 23, a red Ford Escape, which was driven by Bender and occupied by a male passenger was travelling eastbound on Texas Road.

A red Nissan Sentra travelling southbound on FM 907 and a brown Cadillac was travelling northbound on northbound.

According to DPS, Bender failed to yield the right of way at a stop sign and collided with the Nissan. The Nissan then side-swiped the Cadillac and veered off to the southeast corner of FM 907 and Texas Road where it became engulfed in flames.

The Ford Escape veered off the roadway as well, where it struck a utility pole and the male passenger, identified as 43-year-old Jeremy John Hess of Wisconsin, was ejected and hit a parked van.

The driver of the Nissan could not be immediately identified due to his injuries, but was later identified as 29-year-old Sergio Delgado of Edinburg, a news release stated.

The driver of the Cadillac was transported to a local hospital and was released from the hospital last week.

Bender was released from the hospital on Sunday and arrested on the criminal negligent homicide charges. She was arraigned and her bond was set at $2,000,000, records show. She remains jailed in Hidalgo County, as of Monday.