Woman at Jan. 6 Capitol attack involved in fatal car crash

A Missouri woman who allegedly participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was involved in a fatal car crash on Wednesday that left one person dead and two others, including the woman herself, seriously injured, according to authorities.

Emily Hernandez, 22, who was pictured holding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D.-Calif.) nameplate on Jan. 6, 2021, was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol and going the wrong way on Interstate 44 in Franklin County, Mo., at the time of the collision. 

According to the traffic crash report, Hernandez was driving a 2014 Volkswagen Passat westward in the eastbound lane and suffered serious injuries. The incident took place around 7:09 p.m. on Wednesday.

The woman who died in the crash was identified in the report as 32-year-old Victoria N. Wilson. She was in the passenger seat in a car that was hit by Hernandez, according to the police. Her husband, Ryan Wilson, who was driving the car, was seriously hurt and taken to Missouri Baptist Sullivan hospital.

Describing the incident, authorities said both cars swerved to avoid each other, and the front right of Hernandez’s car struck the front right of the other car.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said Hernandez faces two charges related to driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that resulted in death and serious physical injury, according to NBC News.

The crash took place on the eve of the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack. Hernandez’s lawyer Ethan Corlija said she needed surgery to close a head wound and told the St. Louis Post Dispatch the crash was “a tragic event” and “not intentional.”

She was hit with five charges in 2021 in connection with the riot, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Hernandez’s charges are among dozens that have been doled out as law enforcement across the country works to find rioters who breached the Capitol.