LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One woman was killed and another person was taken to the hospital after a crash Sunday near Iroquois Park.
Police said Alexandria Tello was driving a Dodge Challenger and ran a red light at the intersection of Southern Parkway and Taylor Boulevard. An arrest report said Tello was going 60 to 70 miles per hour.
According to police, Tello's car crashed into a Honda Fit. The driver and passenger of the Honda were both taken to the hospital, where the passenger died. The Jefferson County Coroner's office identified the woman who was killed as Ardo M. Hassan, 66, of Louisville.
Tello was arrested and now faces several charges including murder, wanton endangerment, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, operating on a suspended or revoked license, no or expired registration, and others.
A not guilty plea was entered for Tello. A judge set her bond at $500,000.
Alexandria Tello appears in front of a judge Monday morning, March 18, 2024. (WDRB image)
Last week, Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers announced the retooling of FAST in Louisville. It stands for Fatal Accident Support Team, where a specialized group of prosecutors serve as internal experts on cases involving deadly crashes that may lead to felony charges.
Whethers expects this case, and others like it, to be assigned to the team.
"That's exactly what the FAST team is for," said Whethers.
During last week's announcement about FAST, Whethers said in the past year, her office has seen 139 charges — including nine murder charges — in connection to crashes where a death or serious injury led to felony prosecution. About 20% of those crashes were related to driving under the influence.
She said having a dedicated group of seven prosecutors looking into these types of cases will help with efficiency. The team will also work closely with police.
"We cannot stop what's happening every day, but we can go in and deal with what's happened. We don't want to just respond to things. We want to be planned. We want to make sure we are ready to take the next step to just take care of each other, which is a big thing," Whethers said.
Last week, LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said the department has an aggressive goal to decrease traffic deaths by 5%. Whethers said her office has seen the need to implement a team like FAST to assist with cases from across the city.
"We understand the importance of protection and we're part of that protection. We really want to be and need to be part of the community to say, 'Listen, we want this to stop as much as you do.' But we have to be the ones that are intentional. Our office is supposed to be the one that's intentional of trying to reduce some of these cases," Whethers said.
She said reducing these types of cases will take work and won't be able to happen overnight.
"We talk about our office and we talk about LMPD. It is a community issue. It's going to take all of us. It's going to be us collaborating. We have to make sure that we're talking to the community, and making sure the community knows they can talk with us," Whethers said.
As for the case from Sunday's crash, Tello is expected back in court March 26.
