Too late to try: Case dismissed against hit-and-run suspect

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Johnny Chavira was killed in a car crash back in 1998. He and his wife were driving home from a celebration at Fiesta Guadalajara in north Houston.

"My brother shot out, he shot out the windshield. My brother hit a post that was around there and died instantly," said his sister, Yolanda Chavira. "My sister was in a coma for two to three weeks. She didn't even know that her husband had passed away."

Juan Torres is accused of speeding, crashing, then running away from the scene. Torres was charged with the crime, but Houston Police say they couldn't find him, so he wasn't arrested.

"He ran like a coward out of his truck and left and hid," Chavira said.

Torres was captured in Hidalgo County in May. But it was too late. A judge ruled Wednesday that police hadn't made enough of an effort to find him over the past 16 years. His case was dismissed because US law gives all defendants the right to a speedy trial.

"Cases go cold, there are no leads, you can't follow up. There's nothing for law enforcement to go on, so basically the case just sits there," said Andy Kahan, a victim advocate.

"We can't bring my brother back but we can save somebody else, and justice has got to do something about that," said Chavira. "I don't know who to turn to."

Houston police say they are investigating the case.