Rene Hernandez, 21, went from the hospital straight to jail on Wednesday. He’s charged in the weekend deaths of Jayden Flemming and Ronnie Burns II.
HOUSTON, Texas — Days after a deadly Midtown crash claimed the lives of two best friends, we’re hearing exclusively from the man accused of killing them.
Rene Hernandez is charged with two counts of murder in the Saturday, August 2, deaths of Ronnie Burns II, from North Texas, and his fraternity brother, Jayden Flemming.
Hernandez was released from Ben Taub Hospital Wednesday morning and taken straight to the Harris County Jail.
In an interview you’ll see only on KHOU 11, Hernandez had a message for the victims’ families.
“I’m sorry, and that I hope that the Lord forgives me, and I hope the Lord is with them in their pain and their suffering,” Hernandez told KHOU 11. “And it was never intentional, and that’s my biggest grief right now is just the victims’ families.”
The victims, 22-year-old graduates of Florida A&M University, were in Houston for the annual Texas Greek Picnic. They were part of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
According to the Precinct 7 Constable’s Office, Hernandez was speeding and ran a red light before he crashed into their Lexus on Smith Street near Elgin. Both men were burned beyond recognition.
“When you have the speed, the size of the object, with the force, it was very violent. It caused both vehicles to go up in the air, lose control,” Precinct 7 Lt. Ashton Johnson-Hall said.
At the time, Precinct 7 deputy constables were chasing Hernandez because they said he’d crashed into another vehicle after running multiple red lights.
Court documents say the suspect had been consuming alcohol.
RELATED: Man facing two murder charges after fiery wreck that killed fraternity brothers visiting Houston
Families want justice
Family members say both victims were robbed of bright futures.
When he was just eight years old, Burns told his parents that he would graduate from college and get a job paying six figures. The Duncanville, Texas native had just landed that first six-figure job in Atlanta and then bought a brand new Lexus.
“We teach our kids and we teach our family, we only get one life. So we tell them live it, live it to the fullest,” Burns’ father said. “And the lives he touched along the way, we’re proud. I was just happy to be his father, to be able to plant them seeds and to know my son went and touched lives like that.”
His mother said they’re still trying to process the fact that Ronnie is gone as they lean into their faith.
“I’m sad and I’m devastated,” his mother, Kimberly Burns, said. “But I’m so thankful that God gave him to us for these many years and that he had done so many things in these years that were good things.”
Burns’ younger brother, Nelson, is also heartbroken.
“Really great person. I just love him so much. I just wish, like, I could hug him again,” he said.
Flemming’s mother flew to Houston from Miami and visited the crash site where her son took his last breath.
“Trying to comprehend and I’m still asking, ‘why?” she said.
She said her son was looking forward to continuing his studies in Germany.
“I talked to him the Friday afternoon before, and he was very happy, having fun,” Williams said.