Bristol Man Sentenced in Somerset Wrong-Way Fatal Crash

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A Bristol, Rhode Island man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to motor vehicle homicide in Somerset, but Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said the sentence imposed isn’t long enough.

Quinn said that Hector Fernandez, 55, was sentenced in Fall River Superior Court on October 22 on a charge of motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison, and Fernandez was sentenced to two and a half years at the Bristol County House of Correction, 18 months to serve with the balance of the sentence suspended for five years.

The Commonwealth had requested a state prison sentence of four and a half to five years.

Wrong-Way Route 195 Crash Kills FedEx Worker

On January 13, 2021, at about 3:45 a.m., Fernandez was driving his 2006 Volvo XC90 on Route 195 west in Somerset in the wrong direction in the third travel lane, approaching mile marker 9.6. At the same time, Adriaen Thibeault, 21, was driving his 2017 Nissan Versa in the same lane on his way to work at FedEx.

Fernandez passed at least two other vehicles while driving in the wrong direction before he struck Thibeault’s vehicle head-on.

Witnesses Tried to Save the Victim

A witness stopped to help and approached Fernandez seated in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, asking if he was injured. He responded by asking for a cigarette.

The witness and another good Samaritan then approached Thibeault’s vehicle, but due to the damage to the car and the air bag being deployed, they couldn’t pull him out of the vehicle. The car then caught on fire, and Thibeault was unable to escape as the vehicle burned. His cause of death was listed as blunt force torso injuries and thermal burns.

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Driver Had Prescription Drugs in System

Fernandez was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where investigators secured a search warrant for his blood, which revealed the presence of topiramate, Seroquel and Benadryl.

“(Fernandez) had been prescribed an anti-seizure medication which carried with it a warning to use care when operating machinery,” the D.A.’s Office said. “The pill bottle for this medication was found to contain fewer pills than the recommended usage and the defendant was found to have 11 pills in his pocket at the hospital.”

No alcohol or illicit drugs were found in Fernandez’s system.

District Attorney Criticizes Sentence

"This was a terrible but unnecessary tragedy that took the life of a young man who had his whole life ahead of him,” Quinn said. “The defendant’s operation was reckless with devastating consequences for the victim and his family. The defendant should have received a longer sentence for his conduct. My heart goes out to the victim and his family.”