Mother of teen killed by school bus arrested
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was struck and killed in May by a school bus was arrested early Tuesday after she allegedly stabbed her longtime partner in his stomach during a dispute over drugs.
The boy’s 30-year-old mother, Karen Hernandez, was taken into custody at about 5:25 a.m. on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after officers arrived at the couple’s apartment building and saw her outside holding a 10-inch knife, Glendale Police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot said.
Her 35-year-old partner was also in front of the apartment building, clutching his abdomen.
The couple was reportedly arguing about drugs while their children, ages 6 and 9, slept in a nearby bedroom before the stabbing occurred, Lightfoot said.
Hernandez’s partner suffered a 2-inch cut to his stomach and was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he is being treated for the non-life-threatening injury.
Officers found marijuana and a small bag possibly containing methamphetamine in Hernandez’s pants pocket, Lightfoot said. They also reportedly discovered a crack pipe and large amount of cash in clothing nearby.
The couple was unemployed and used drugs regularly, police said.
But the death of their son had “affected their relationship” of 14 years, Lightfoot said.
Their son was Roosevelt Middle School student Jonathan Hernandez, who was reportedly riding his bicycle heading west in an eastbound lane at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Riverdale Drive before his tragic death on May 2.
He was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed just after 2 p.m. when he was struck by the bus and pinned under it.
Jonathan was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Prosecutors later declined to file charges against the bus driver because of a lack of evidence and because Jonathan violated several vehicle codes, which police said led to the crash.
Those violations included riding his bicycle the wrong way in the intersection and failing to yield for the bus.
Police said the younger children’s grandparents will take care of them.
Hernandez is scheduled to appear Thursday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Glendale.
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Follow Veronica Rocha on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA.
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