A Bethlehem man has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash last summer in the city that left a 24-year-old woman in a coma.
Leroy Mendez, 37, is charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault; felony accidents involving personal injury; felony fraudulent insurance claim; misdemeanor reckless endangerment; two counts misdemeanor drunken driving, and related offenses.
Mendez was arraigned Tuesday before Jordan A. Knisley, who set bail at $250,000. In lieu of bail, Mendez was sent to Northampton County Prison.
Bensalem, Bucks County-based attorney Gail Nicolina Marr, representing Mendez, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
City police responded just after 1:30 a.m. July 19 to the area of Adams and East Fourth streets for a report of a woman struck by a fleeing red Mazda.
Investigators learned the pedestrian was standing legally next to a parked car when struck. The Mazda driver also struck two other parked cars, one of which was occupied at the time, police said.
The victim suffered life-threatening injuries, which included a traumatic brain injury, multiple broken bones and a partial foot amputation, city police said.
The victim remains in a coma today at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill.
Investigators said they were able to identify Mendez as the driver of the 2016 MazdaCX-3 through witness testimony and surveillance video footage from the crash scene.
Investigators said they found the damaged Mazda parked behind Mendez’s city home. Vehicle parts recovered from the accident scene matched the damaged car at the home, city police said.
Mendez allegedly admitted to investigators in an interview to drinking alcohol in celebration of his birthday prior to the crash. A test revealed his blood-alcohol content level that morning was 0.126%. Penalties in Pennsylvania start at 0.08%.
Mendez reportedly admitted to being intoxicated and striking the victim, police said. He is accused of filing a false insurance claim about the accident.
Mendez is due back in court for a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 7 before Knisley. A judge will then determine if there’s sufficient evidence to send the case toward trial at the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas.
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