Two black eyes mark the face of an accused DUI killer

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno County man accused of killing his friend in a drunk driving crash says he's not guilty of manslaughter. 30-year-old Javier Hernandez died in the collision Sunday night.

Rene Resendez walked away from the crash bleeding all the way to a nearby home. The family living there tried to help him, and everyone else involved in the crash, but one of the victims took his last breaths as they gave him CPR.

A trail of blood leads all the way from the stop sign at Englehart and Dinuba to the doorstep of the Navarro household. The blood belonged to Rene Resendez and when he got to the door, he was woozy, but knew what he wanted most.

"My daughter asked him if he was okay because he was just holding his face," said Gloria Navarro. "He wanted water. He was thirsty."

Two black eyes marked his face as Resendez pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk. His passenger, Javier Hernandez, was thrown from the vehicle and died in the crash. Gloria Navarro's husband tried to save him. He gave Hernandez CPR, but realized he was dead just as police got there. Now he's a secondary victim.

"He can't sleep," Gloria Navarro said. "All he says is he closes his eyes and he hears a noise and the victim, he sees the victim."

Resendez told the Navarros he wasn't driving, but investigators say there's no doubt he was. He has no criminal history and ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi says prosecutors have to consider the fact that Hernandez didn't do everything he should've.

"The person who was killed wasn't wearing a seat belt and that may be contributory to his death," Capozzi said. "But for that seat belt, we may not have had a death."

The Navarros say the intersection out there near Reedley is often a trouble spot and they've lost count of how many victims they've had to run out and help over the last four years. There aren't any street lights, and drivers often run the same stop sign investigators say Resendez blew through.