By Jaxon Van Derbeken
The San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco sheriff’s cadet accused of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in the hit-run accident that killed a 61-year-old pedestrian was ordered held on $1 million bail Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Nancy Davis set the bail for Jose Jimenez, 23, who did not enter a plea in his first court appearance in the death of San Francisco resident James Hudson.
Hudson was killed at 2:30 a.m. Friday as he was crossing Masonic Avenue and Turk Boulevard.
After hitting Hudson, authorities say, Jimenez continued south on Masonic in his 2009 Hyundai as a cabdriver called police. He crashed into several parked cars near Fell and Clayton streets before slamming into concrete planter boxes outside St. Mary’s Medical Center on Stanyan Street, police say.
Jimenez has been a sheriff’s cadet since 2008, working as a security guard at the city’s 911 emergency call center. He was off duty at the time of the crash.
He appeared to be in tears as he was led into court Tuesday. Several friends and family members crowded the courtroom, many also in tears.
“What’s important is that the family and my client are distraught at Mr. Hudson’s death, and our prayers are with Mr. Hudson’s family,” said Jimenez’s attorney, Chris Morales. “It’s a horrible thing.”
Jimenez was ordered to return for arraignment May 18.
Copyright 2011 San Francisco Chronicle