By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 25-year-old Pelham man is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totaling $200,000 after he was charged with manslaughter in a fatal Dec. 21 car wreck in Birmingham.

The Birmingham Police Department arrested Sergio Antonio Gonzales, whose address is listed in South Gate Estates in Pelham, on Dec. 22 and charged him with one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or injuries. Armondo Hernandez, a passenger in Gonzales’ vehicle, died in the wreck.

On Dec. 31, Gonzales was charged with one felony count of manslaughter after police alleged Gonzales was driving “in excess of posted (speed) limits and while under the influence of alcohol.”

According to Gonzales’ arrest warrant, he allegedly “did fail to immediately stop his vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible, and did fail to immediately return to or remain at the scene” of the accident.

Hernandez is being represented by the Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office, and is scheduled to appear at the Jefferson County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 21 at 10 a.m.

If convicted, Gonzales could face up to 10 years in prison for leaving the scene of an accident charge and up to 20 years for the manslaughter charge.