A man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for a 2025 hit-and-run crash in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that seriously injured a pedestrian.
According to Northampton County prosecutors, Leroy Mendez, of Bethlehem, was sentenced to eight years and eight months to 19 years in state prison after he was found guilty of 12 counts in connection with the DUI crash.
On July 19, 2025, at approximately 1:32 a.m., Bethlehem police, firefighters and EMS responded to East 4th Street for a report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle that fled the scene.
The victim, a 24-year-old woman, was thrown into the air by the impact and landed on the street, officials said.
She was transported to a hospital suffering from multiple serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. According to prosecutors, the victim will require extensive, lifelong medical care.
As officers investigated, they obtained city surveillance footage from the surrounding area, which captured the vehicle striking the woman, crashing into a parked vehicle and leaving the scene.
The car was determined to be registered to Mendez, prosecutors said.
Later that morning, officers located the vehicle at Mendez’s home and learned that he had filed an insurance claim earlier that day, stating another car had sideswiped his. While speaking to Mendez, officers noticed signs of impairment and administered field sobriety tests.
Prosecutors said a blood draw revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.126%, but it was determined to be between 0.17% to 0.27% at the time of the incident.
Moreover, surveillance video obtained by police showed Mendez committing several traffic violations while driving aimlessly and in a reckless manner just before the collision, officials said.
Mendez was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, accidents involving death or personal injury, insurance fraud, DUI, and DUI-related offenses — bringing a total of 12 counts.
On April 27, 2026, he was found guilty of all charges.
On July 15, 2026, Mendez was sentenced to a total of eight years and eight months to 19 years in state prison.