Official: Woman charged in fatal crash may have fled country

HENRICO, Va. (AP) - A prosecutor in Virginia says a woman charged in a fatal crash may have fled the country.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Rob Cerullo said Thursday that authorities believe 48-year-old Osmaira E. Mendez-Urdaneta, of Henrico, fled the county and possibly the U.S. to avoid prosecution. Mendez-Urdaneta, who is from El Salvador, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the August death of 59-year-old Beverly Page Bourgeois, who was struck by a car while doing yard work.

Cerullo says Mendez-Urdaneta missed a court date in October on a charge of reckless driving. He says authorities have been unable to find her to serve a warrant for the upgraded charge. He says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security are involved.

Cerullo says the commonwealth’s attorney’s office appointed him to the case.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com