Fresno County judge says DUI murder case can go to trial
A judge ruled David Alvarado’s DUI case can go to trial after testimony showed a six-time offender was allegedly drunk and speeding when he killed Mary and Paul Hardin.
A Fresno County judge ruled that prosecutors can take David Alvarado’s DUI case to trial after testimony about the May 18, 2024 crash on northbound Highway 41 at Manning Avenue that killed Mary Hardin and Paul Hardin. Witnesses and a correctional sergeant testified that Mary Hardin was not breathing and could not be freed from the vehicle.
Alvarado was driving a Ford F-250 at a high rate of speed when he struck vehicles stopped at a red light. A CHP breath test showed his alcohol level was more than double the legal limit. Judge Gabriel Brickey found the legal threshold for murder charges had been met, clearing the way for a jury to decide whether the crash crossed from vehicular homicide into murder.
He had six prior DUI convictions, from 1997, 2005, 2006, twice in 2019 and 2021. Prosecutors charged him with two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while impaired with prior convictions, DUI causing great bodily injury, driving with a suspended license based on a prior DUI conviction and causing injury, and driving with a .01% or higher BAC while on DUI probation. If convicted, he faces five years plus 30 years to life.
Mary Hardin, 65, died the night of the crash. Paul Hardin, 69, was hospitalized in critical condition and later taken off life support. The couple had recently moved to the Central Valley from Texas as church missionaries, and their deaths left 11 children without parents. A memorial service was later held for them in Caruthers.
In October 2024, a judge denied Alvarado’s request for bail reduction and kept him in custody without bail, saying no conditions could reasonably protect the public given his continued decisions to drink and drive. His defense acknowledged his prior drinking-and-driving history and that he had briefly worn an alcohol-monitoring leg device in 2023.
A Fresno State study found Central California’s DUI fatality rate in 2023 was 6.05 deaths per 100,000 people, more than double California’s 2.62 per 100,000. The study found Fresno County had 1,751 fatal crashes from 2010 to 2023, and speeding was involved in 34% of them. Alvarado is scheduled to return on July 16, when a trial date will be set.
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