UPDATE: On April 15, 2024, a Cameron County jury found Dr. Ameer Elsayed Hassan not guilty of manslaughter in connection with the crash. 

A Harlingen doctor accused of hitting and killing a woman in an auto-pedestrian crash while he was on his cell phone pleaded not guilty Thursday to a manslaughter charge.

Dr. Ameer Elsayed Hassan was indicted on the manslaughter charge in October. The indictment identifies him as the driver who “recklessly” caused the death of 73-year-old San Juana Benavides Sanchez in an April 26, 2023 crash.

The crash occurred at the intersection of North Ed Carey and Pease Street when a red pickup truck hit Sanchez while she was in the crosswalk, according to a previous report.

READ ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CRASH HERE 

Harlingen police previously said the driver, now identified as Hassan, stopped to help at the scene.

According to the indictment, Hassan “failed to yield the right of way to a pedestrian,” and used “a cell phone while driving.”

Hassan’s medical license was suspended by the Texas Medical Board following his indictment. According to a news release, the state medical board determined that Hassan practicing medicine posed “a continuing threat to public welfare.”