ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of delivering a punch that left another man brain-dead is now facing a manslaughter charge, weeks after the victim was taken off life support.
The state attorney's office filed a manslaughter charge against Benjamin Hernandez Jr. on Monday. He was previously facing a felony aggravated battery charge.
Orange County deputies said on June 4, 28-year-old Hernandez confronted 51-year-old Srikanth "Shrik" Srinivasan at an Ale House because he thought Srinivasan was arguing with his wife.
"It was just a little stupid argument. There was no yelling going on," the victim's wife told News 6.
Hernandez punched Srinivasan once, causing him to fall to the floor and hit his head, according to an arrest report.
Srinivasan was airlifted to Osceola Regional Medical Center in critical condition. A doctor there declared him clinically brain-dead and his family made the decision to take him off life support the next day.
The victim did not have health or life insurance. A family friend started a GoFundMe to help with the medical expenses.