A sense of anguish pervaded the Wiley C. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland this morning as Nina Woodruff, the partner of the late Marvin Boomer, the Castlemont teacher who died in a collision last year, spoke about his death for the first time in court.<\/p>\n
\u200aWoodruff asked the presiding judge, Elisa Della Piana, not to release Eric Scott Hernandez Garcia from jail under the state\u2019s mental health diversion law, which allows pretrial defendants to request mental health treatment in lieu of jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hernandez Garcia is the Oakland resident who is accused of losing control of a car on E. 21st Street and 12th Street in May 2025 in the wake of a California Highway Patrol chase<\/a>, then slamming into a fire hydrant that hit and killed Boomer and injured Woodruff. Hernandez Garcia, police said at the time, crashed the car into a tree near the couple\u2019s home, fled on foot, and was caught nearby by CHP officers. He was 18 at the time of the crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe refused to listen to police when they told him to stop multiple times,\u201d Woodruff said. \u201cHe is a risk to society. Refuses to listen. He won\u2019t listen to officers\u200a. Instead, he brought his problems to my doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n Woodruff said that she was broken on the inside and that her \u201cbrain is compromised thanks to Mr. Hernandez.\u201d<\/p>\n A debate over mental health diversion<\/p>\n For most of this year, Hernandez Garcia\u2019s lawyers have been seeking a mental health diversion for their client. The statute was amended by a new piece of legislation, AB 46, this year. Those changes, which take effect on January 1, would require defendants to have received a diagnosis of or treatment for a mental health issue within the last five years to qualify for diversion. It would also add more oversight to the program and give judges greater discretion<\/a> to use public safety as a standard in evaluating requests.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hernandez Garcia was brought into court from Santa Rita jail wearing a green jumpsuit. He looked away from Woodruff while she spoke and, at one point, looked down for several seconds. Hernandez Garcia\u2019s family, including his sister, sat a few feet away from Woodruff; a few of them closed their eyes while listening to her speak. One older relative put her head in her chest during the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Miriam Hernandez, the defendant\u2019s sister, who lived with him in central Oakland before the tragedy, spoke about her brother\u2019s character, saying he was a \u2018humble\u201d person who \u201cwouldn\u2019t hurt anyone on purpose.\u201d She also spoke about what she described as his history of untreated mental illness.<\/p>\n Hernandez said the family noticed him retreating from family members in his mid-teens, and she recalled him imagining someone was speaking to him when he was in his room by himself, even saying that \u201csomeone\u201d had asked him to harm himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe would laugh about it because of our ignorance,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cWe would say, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s the devil,\u2019 or, \u2018It\u2019s a spirit.\u2019 And we did not pay attention \u2019cause we did not know that he could have a mental illness at such a young age. And many times, he would come over and say, \u2018Someone did something to me in the room.\u2019 We were like, \u2018No one is there.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Alameda County prosecutor arguing the case against Hernandez Garcia, Nora Wong, said at the hearing today that the county\u2019s forensic psychiatrist had found issues with the findings of Dr. Rosario Carbajal, a psychiatrist who had analyzed Hernandez Garcia for the defense, and was awaiting the defense team\u2019s reply. She did not say what mental health condition Carbajal had identified. Michael McNabb, a lawyer for Hernandez Garcia, said the defense would respond to that analysis over the next few weeks, in advance of the October 13 hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Judge Della Piana said today that she would hear the final arguments on that date to help her determine whether Hernandez Garcia is eligible for the mental health diversion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Woodruff\u2019s daughter, Nia Moten, addressed the court about the effect that the crash had had on her mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n Boatman said she had seen her mother endure multiple surgeries, \u201ccountless occupational and physical therapies,\u201d and multiple mental health challenges, such as the inability to walk outside due to her new fear of speeding cars. Woodruff used a cane to get in and out of the courthouse today.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the accident, my mother was sharp, an adamant walker,\u201d Boatman said. \u201cShe would walk at minimum three miles a day, often with Dr. Boomer. She was a hard worker, putting in upwards of 50 hours a week across her many projects and colleagues, working to uplift the Oakland community. \u200aI do not minimize mental illness, nor the humanity of Mr. Hernandez-Garcia and his family, but I oppose mental health diversion because of the multiple serious injuries and death caused on that day.\u201d<\/p>\n