BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Bethlehem man is now behind bars after a hit-and-run.
The crash happened back in July and left a 24-year-old woman in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police say 37-year-old Leroy Mendez was drinking and driving when he struck the 24-year-old woman with his car before driving away.
The young woman is still in the hospital in a coma.
On Saturday, July 19, just after 1:30 a.m., police were dispatched to East Fourth Street in Bethlehem for a report of a hit-and-run.
When they arrived, they found the victim with a traumatic brain injury, multiple broken bones and a partial foot amputation. She’s currently in a coma in the ICU, police said Tuesday.
According to police, the victim was hit by a red 2016 Mazda CX-3. The impact also damaged two parked cars. Investigation revealed the vehicle was registered to Mendez, of Bethlehem.
Later that morning, the damaged Mazda was located by police inside a detached garage behind Mendez’s home.
During interviews with detectives, Mendez admitted he was out drinking that night for his birthday. According to police, he displayed signs of impairment, failed sobriety testing, and submitted a blood test that yielded a blood alcohol concentration of .126 percent. Mendez even admitted he had too much to drink and had been in an accident.
He later filed an insurance claim containing false information about what happened.
Now two months later, Mendez is being charged with multiple offenses, including driving under the influence, aggravated assault, and reckless driving.
Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta says due to the amount of evidence in this case, it took some time for Mendez to be charged.
“Justice doesn’t always move as fast as we would like it, but the most important part of our job is to make sure when we file the charges, we’re ready to go forward and we feel comfortable we can get a conviction,” Baratta said.