THE PLOT THICKENS IN THE OLIVEIRA-MOLINA-ZAMORA DWI SAGA

By Juan Montoya
Are we getting the whole story around the Nov. 9 DWI arrest of Lupita Molina who was driving State Rep. Rene Oliveira's automobile when she allegedly crashed into the rear of a van driven by a local couple off the frontage road in front of Charlie Clark's Nissan franchise?
As more details emerge, there are some local cynics that think there is more here than meets the eye.

One commenter to this blog wrote (anonymously) that :  "I saw Rene at the restroom at Cheddar's at about 10:00 pm. He shirt was out. He was sweating profusely. He was on his cell phone."

November 28, 2011 6:48 PM

The police report filed in the arrest of Molina indicates that the report to the department of a major accident came in at 9:48 p.m.

Another wrote that: How long does it take to run from the scene of the accident to Cheddars? To have your girlfriend take the fall for you, PRICELESS!!!!

November 29, 2011 11:36 AM
The reports indicate that a 1999 Ford Windstar van with two passengers was struck from behind at a high rate of speed by a 2009 Chrysler PT cruiser operated by Molina, identified as an employee at the college media department.

When officers arrived at the accident scene, they found the van with heavy damage to the rear parked in the grassy area between the expressway far right lane and the frontage road in front of the Nissan dealership. A woman passenger complained that she was hurting as a result of the impact, but did not require ambulance transport. After ascertaining that the passengers in the van were not seriously hurt, officers walked over to the Chrysler and found an the driver was uncooperative and refusing to emerge from the car merely stating that she "knew her rights."

After getting her license information, officers bodily removed her from the wrecked car which had traveled over the curb, knocked down a fenced at the dealership and almost struck a demonstration car on a ramp inside the car dealer's.

A check of the vehicle's VIN indicated that the car belonged to State rep. Rene Oliveira, who was not in the vehicle. And according to the reporting officer, it was not insured.

That was not all. As the officers investigated the crime scene and attempted to elicit information from the obviously intoxicated driver, a woman identifying herself as a "city commissioner" (Melissa Zamora) showed up on the scene. She was toldf twice by officers not to talk to the woman, but the report indicates that she disregarded their warnings.

We are told by people who know that in case of a DWI involving an accident, the arresting officer can subject the suspect submit to a blood test. Why officer Everardo Longoria (City Commission Ricardo Longoria's brother) did not press the issue is still a question begging for an answer.

So is, apparently, the 800-pound gorilla question about whether or not Oliveira might have been in the car and walked away from the scene of an accident. More importantly, was he driving and let Molina take the blame?

Some have suggested that the investigation into the accident might also include footage from any cameras that might have been present in the area. We suspect that the Charlie Nissan car dealer might be required by its insurance company to have surveillance at the site, which would let investigators know whether anyone emerged from the PT Cruiser and left the scene.

Likewise, we went out to the Cheddar's Restaurant next door and noticed that it has several cameras trained on both the front and rear door. If anyone wanted to lay the question to rest, any honest investigation of the accident would warrant a look-see at the tapes on the cameras. 

Was Oliveira at the scene either as a passenger or a driver and ran to Cheddar's to arrange for Zamora to run interference for Molina and advice her of what to say (or not to say) to the police?