Nine days after a man was cited for allegedly driving drunk, police said he fled the scene of a deadly crash in Sandy Springs in which he was suspected of driving while intoxicated.
Robert Sanders is accused in the fatal wreck that left a pedestrian dead early Friday on Roswell Road near Mystic Place, Sandy Springs police said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
He was identified Tuesday as 45-year-old Humberto Mendez Gomez by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“Our condolences go out to the victim’s family,” police said in a statement.
According to his warrant, Sanders allegedly struck the pedestrian at the intersection of Mystic Place before driving his Lexus ES300 northbound on Roswell Road.
After being notified and responding to the crash site, officers were able to track down Sanders later that day in Roswell through the help of Flock cameras, according to police and Fulton County Jail records.
Roswell police found the parked Lexus and Sanders, who was “still covered in glass and seemed impaired,” according to the warrant. The vehicle had “extensive damage” to its front passenger side and windshield, which was “stained red with blood,” the warrant stated.
Sanders told Sandy Springs police he left the scene after hitting something but didn’t know what he struck, according to the warrant.
During a field sobriety test, the officer stated that Sanders' pupils didn’t react to the presence of or absence of light. Sanders then said was prescribed daily Xanax and took oxycodone as needed, leading an officer to determine he was a “less safe driver,” the warrant stated.
Sanders was taken to a hospital after consenting to blood testing, and the sample will be sent to the GBI to be analyzed, police said.
He was booked on charges of first-degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of drugs, hit-and-run, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane, according to online records.
According to online records, Sanders was previously stopped by Roswell police and booked March 12 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to maintain lane or improper lane change. He posted a $4,000 surety bond for both of those charges, the records show.
Police said an investigation into Friday’s crash is ongoing.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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