Devastated family faces suspect in court after hit-and-run that killed Atascadero boy
The Atascadero man accused of fatally hitting and killing a sixth-grader while driving under the influence pleaded not guilty to the crimes Wednesday in an emotional hearing attended by the boy’s distraught mother and other family members.
Zachary Bernal, 31, of Atascadero made his first court appearance on Tuesday, one day after the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office formally charged him as the driver of the 2003 Ford F-150 suspected of striking 11-year-old José Gutiérrez as the boy walked home from Atascadero Middle School on Friday.
Gutiérrez died of his injuries at the scene in front of the Danish Care Center on El Camino Real.
Bernal was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run resulting in death. The hit-and-run charge carries a sentencing enhancement for fleeing a vehicular manslaughter. He was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a narcotic controlled substance.
More than 10 members of Gutiérrez’s family and friends attended the hearing.
Upon Bernal’s entry into the courtroom, Gutiérrez’s mother burst into tears and sobbed through the entirety of the brief hearing, which lasted no longer than five minutes.
While family members reached over to comfort the boy’s mother, Bernal stared straight ahead as Judge Rita Federman asked him how he pleaded to the crimes and the sentencing enhancement.
“Not guilty,” he answered.
He then looked down and held his gaze at the floor for the rest of the hearing.
Bernal was represented by defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu.
Federman ruled Bernal’s bail will remain at $1 million until at least his next hearing, when a new judge will consider a probation report regarding Bernal’s bail and the prosecution’s motion to increase bail.
It was unclear from court documents what amount the District Attorney’s Office wanted to increase bail to at this time.
Bernal was found a few hours after the crash at a friend’s house, Atascadero Police Department Chief Daniel Suttles told The Tribune. He was the registered owner of the truck and was identified as a person of interest, Suttles said, but at the time police did not yet have proof that he was the alleged driver of the truck.
According to Suttles, Bernal showed signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance when police went to question him, so officers first arrested him on suspicion of drug charges and continued to investigate the case.
The agency eventually filed suspected charges relating to the crash on Saturday afternoon when there was enough evidence to do so, Suttles said.
Bernal’s next court hearing was scheduled for March 24.
While Bernal does not appear to have a previous criminal record in San Luis Obispo County, according to court documents and the district attorney’s case search, he does have a record in Santa Cruz County.
According to Superior Court records there, Bernal was convicted of petty theft crimes in 2013 and 2014, vandalism in 2014, misdemeanor drug crimes in 2014 and 2015, and felony having contraband in jail in 2015.
A memorial honoring Gutiérrez’s life that appeared at the scene of the accident near Danish Care Center has grown over the days since the fatal hit-and-run, with family, friends and community members alike leaving flowers, photos and keepsakes honoring the boy’s memory.
