The driver arrested in connection with a crash on Frazier Avenue that killed two people Thanksgiving weekend was given a $1 million bond during a court hearing Tuesday.
Randy Vega, 44, faces two charges of vehicular homicide as well as charges of aggravated vehicular assault, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment.
The crash killed two people, 41-year-old Ana Posso Rodriguez and her 22-month-old son, Jonathan Devia, from Jacksonville, Florida. The baby’s father, Octavio Devia Paz, 40, also sustained critical injuries and remains in the hospital, according to his family.
(READ MORE: Advocates call for safety after 2 pedestrians killed in Chattanooga)
Vega’s bond was originally set at $100,000 when he was booked into jail last week, after being released from the hospital for injuries from the crash.
Judge Larry Ables on Tuesday raised that to $500,000 for each homicide charge. If Vega makes his bond and is released from jail, Ables said, he would be placed under house arrest.
“Based on the affidavit that I’ve read, there’s some suggestion that there was some sort of altercation after the fact,” Ables said during Tuesday’s hearing. “I’m concerned about this man’s ties to the community and the seriousness of these crimes.”
Assistant District Attorney Paul Finlay said during Tuesday’s hearing his office hasn’t found any prior criminal convictions for Vega in its initial search. Vega, who is from Tampa, Florida, has no connection to the Chattanooga community, public defender Mike Little told the judge Tuesday.
Vega appeared in Hamilton County General Sessions Court on Tuesday, handcuffed and in a red jumpsuit. Members of Devia Paz’s family watched the hearing, some shaking their heads when Vega walked out.
A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 10 in Vega’s case.
Members of Posso Rodriguez’s family have raised more than $28,000 through an online fundraiser, which will go toward transporting her and her son’s bodies back to Florida and funeral arrangements. She leaves three daughters behind, family friend Yasira Molina said.
“The girls are surrounded with a lot of friends and family at the moment,” Molina said by phone last week. “We finally picked out the funeral home, and I think they’re working on the bodies so they can be transported early next week.”
Around $300 had been raised as of Tuesday in an online fundraiser organized by the family of Octavio Devia Paz.
That fundraiser is meant to help Devia Paz’s family travel back and forth between Florida and Chattanooga to be with him at the hospital, his brother, Adolfo Devia Paz, said by phone. The family hopes it will also help cover medical expenses.
Doctors estimate that Devia Paz will have to stay at Erlanger for around two more months, anticipating many more surgeries in addition to the eight he’s already had. He came out of a coma last week, his brother said, but is still in critical condition and staying in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Several pastors from local churches have visited the hospital to pray for and be with Devia Paz, according to his brother. Suffering injuries along with the loss of his wife and child has been hard on him, his brother said.
“This is a really hard process for him, because he has a lot of pain, but also, he has a lot of depression,” Adolfo Devia Paz said.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.