PARLIER, CA – A 35-year-old woman is facing charges of vehicular manslaughter after authorities say she fatally struck a teenage boy with her vehicle while he was crossing the street with his girlfriend earlier in March, with the driver allegedly under the influence of an intoxicating substance during the incident.
On March 10th at approximately 5:45 p.m., 15-year-old Immanuel High School freshman Juliana Moreno was crossing the crosswalk with his girlfriend at Mendocino and Parlier Avenues when a car came speeding through the crosswalk, fatally striking the teen and injuring the young woman he was with.
Mercedes Solano, the deceased’s significant other, shared details with a local news outlet about the tragic incident, saying, “I was holding his hand. We were walking shoulder to shoulder here, and it all went by so quick. It was like an explosion.”
The alleged driver of the vehicle, identified as 35-year-old Tiffany Mercado, reportedly crashed into a nearby flower shop after the fatal incident. Authorities say that at the time of the incident Mercado was under the influence of “air duster,” which is a can of compressed air intended to be used for cleaning hard to reach areas but is frequently misused as a crude nitrous oxide delivery system.
Mercado’s extensive criminal history, including an early release from prison stemming from a 2024 robbery conviction, has served as a contentious topic in light of Moreno’s untimely death. San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson voiced his frustration on the matter, saying Mercado should’ve still been in prison at the time of the fatal crash from earlier in March.
“She was sentenced in April 2024 to 6 years in prison. She didn't even do two years of it,” DA Anderson revealed, noting that her participation in prison programming and classes secured a January 2026 release to supervised parole. The San Bernardino DA emphasized that if there were a semblance of truth-in-sentencing in Mercado’s prior case “she would've been in custody and not been out on the streets up in Fresno.”
DA Anderson said the anger from his office, and the community, is warranted against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s pattern of “lousy decisions,” saying “there’s a cost” from these sorts of frivolous early releases from custody.
Mercado has since been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony DUI, vehicular manslaughter, and inflicting great bodily injuring during the commission of a felony. If convicted of the above charges, Mercado could face up to 26 years in state prison.
On March 10th at approximately 5:45 p.m., 15-year-old Immanuel High School freshman Juliana Moreno was crossing the crosswalk with his girlfriend at Mendocino and Parlier Avenues when a car came speeding through the crosswalk, fatally striking the teen and injuring the young woman he was with.
Mercedes Solano, the deceased’s significant other, shared details with a local news outlet about the tragic incident, saying, “I was holding his hand. We were walking shoulder to shoulder here, and it all went by so quick. It was like an explosion.”
The alleged driver of the vehicle, identified as 35-year-old Tiffany Mercado, reportedly crashed into a nearby flower shop after the fatal incident. Authorities say that at the time of the incident Mercado was under the influence of “air duster,” which is a can of compressed air intended to be used for cleaning hard to reach areas but is frequently misused as a crude nitrous oxide delivery system.
Mercado’s extensive criminal history, including an early release from prison stemming from a 2024 robbery conviction, has served as a contentious topic in light of Moreno’s untimely death. San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson voiced his frustration on the matter, saying Mercado should’ve still been in prison at the time of the fatal crash from earlier in March.
“She was sentenced in April 2024 to 6 years in prison. She didn't even do two years of it,” DA Anderson revealed, noting that her participation in prison programming and classes secured a January 2026 release to supervised parole. The San Bernardino DA emphasized that if there were a semblance of truth-in-sentencing in Mercado’s prior case “she would've been in custody and not been out on the streets up in Fresno.”
DA Anderson said the anger from his office, and the community, is warranted against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s pattern of “lousy decisions,” saying “there’s a cost” from these sorts of frivolous early releases from custody.
Mercado has since been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony DUI, vehicular manslaughter, and inflicting great bodily injuring during the commission of a felony. If convicted of the above charges, Mercado could face up to 26 years in state prison.
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