A reportedly drunken driver was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges late Sunday after allegedly striking a pedestrian and then fleeing the scene, only to wreck a few blocks away.
Mario Alberto Carrera, 31, who lists an address of 3836 Central Ave., was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m. and charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of an injury accident, punishable by up to six years in prison, and misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated and refusal to submit.
Carrera, who was also cited for careless or prohibited driving, no proof of insurance and having an expired driver's license, remained in custody Monday in lieu of $3,500 bond and is set to appear Sept. 22 in Garland County District Court.
According to reports, shortly before 9:30 p.m., Hot Springs police Officer Scrimshire was dispatched to a hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian in the 400 block of Reserve Street, and upon arrival found the male victim, 22, lying facedown on the right side of the street.
A witness was at the scene trying to help the victim, who was bleeding from injuries to his head, face and back and complaining that he couldn't feel his legs. He stated he was hit from behind by a car and didn't remember anything else.
The witness said the victim was walking east on Reserve when a small silver car struck him from behind and then continued east on Reserve without stopping.
About a minute after Scrimshire had responded to the struck pedestrian, HSPD Officers Riley and Summitt responded to a one-vehicle accident in the 700 block of Spring Street where a silver 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt had left the roadway and struck a utility pole.
The officers noted the windshield of the vehicle was shattered in a manner consistent with an impact from outside and they found hair and blood embedded in the glass, so they notified Scrimshire.
The witness to the hit and run was brought to the scene and allegedly identified the Cobalt as the vehicle he had seen striking the victim earlier.
The officers spoke to Carrera, who was being checked at the scene by LifeNet, and he reportedly admitted to driving the Cobalt that had just wrecked and stated he was "just trying to get home."
They noted a strong odor of intoxicants about him and that he had red, watery, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. He refused medical treatment and also refused to take any field sobriety tests, so he was taken into custody.
Once at the detention center, Carrera reportedly became uncooperative and advised he could no longer understand English so they found a Garland County sheriff's deputy who spoke Spanish to translate.
Carrera reportedly agreed to take a breathalyzer test, but would not follow instructions resulting in an insufficient sample so he was charged with refusal to submit.
Local on 09/16/2014