New details in Tarrytown hit-and-run

AUSTIN (KXAN) - More details are emerging after Texas House Aide Gabrielle Jane Nestande was arrested Thursday in relation to a hit-and-run accident that killed 30-year-old Courtney Griffin.

According to an arrest affidavit, Griffin’s neighbor called 911 after discovering her body around 5:13 a.m. Friday. The neighbor told dispatchers she was not breathing and was bleeding.

When emergency responders arrived they found Griffin dead, with obvious head and body trauma. Investigators determined Griffin was a pedestrian struck by a vehicle and killed. A broken headlight lens piece was found near the west curb of the roadway.

Police said Griffin’s shoes were found near the roadway and her body was thrown through a large bush before landing in the driveway. In the early stages of the investigation police said there were no witnesses and no identifying information on the vehicle that struck Griffin.

Police said an anonymous phone call shortly after 9:00 a.m. about a suspicious vehicle located at 3018 Windsor is what led authorities to Nestande. The caller said after reading about the early morning hit and run, they believed the black BMW with its “windshield crushed in” might be involved.

Police said the BMW, registered to Gabrielle Nestande, had damage to the front right quarter panel, bumper, windshield and passenger side mirror, consistent with an auto/pedestrian fatality crash. Investigators also found pieces of clothing and skin tissue in the cracks of the windshield.

After questioning the resident who lives where the car was found, police were told Nestande took his car to work that morning. Nestande told the man someone had thrown something at her windshield.

Police went to Nestande’s workplace to question her about the damage and the accident. According to the arrest affidavit Nestande admitted she was the only driver of the vehicle “being involved in an accident, being scared and not knowing what to do.” When detectives pushed Nestande for more information she asked for a lawyer.

Nestande has been released from the Travis County Jail under a $35,000 bond. 

Nestande family has political ties in California

Gabrielle Nestande works in Rep. Wayne Christian's office  (R-Texas). Austin Police told KXAN she is the half-sister of California State Rep. Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert). Police said she is also the daughter of Bruce Nestande, a prominent California politician, who is the father of Brian Nestande.

According to the L.A. times her father, Bruce Nestande, was sentenced in 2007 to six months in jail and three years' probation in connection with a drunk-driving accident in 2006.

The then 69-year-old former politician pled guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence and hit-and-run, as well as filing a fraudulent insurance claim, a felony. Under a plea agreement, the felony charge was dropped after he completes his confinement and probation.