Arrests have now been made in all three of the recent hit-and-run crashes that killed Gwinnett County pedestrians.
Gwinnett police announced Wednesday that Jhonatan Romero-Alvarez, 23, had been charged with vehicular homicide and hit and run in the Monday night crash that killed 22-year-old Dante Wilson near Duluth.
Romero-Alvarez reportedly contacted police Tuesday night "stating that he wanted to discuss the pedestrian fatality with police."
Romero-Alvarez's vehicle -- a maroon Honda that had been their only lead in the case -- was impounded.
According to police, Wilson, 22, left the Autumn Vista apartments at 1500 Boggs Road at about 9:45 p.m. Monday and attempted to cross the street to another complex. The Honda now believed to belong to Romero-Alvarez hit Wilson with its passenger side mirror, and two more cars struck Wilson as he lay in the road.
The latter two vehicles stayed at the scene, but the Honda fled.
Wilson was not in a crosswalk, police said.
The crash was the third fatal pedestrian hit-and-run in Gwinnett County in as many weeks. Suspects in all three crashes have now been apprehended -- but, according to police, they may not have faced charges at all if they'd stayed at the scene.
Like Wilson, a pedestrian killed Oct. 22 near Norcross was not in a crosswalk. A woman killed Oct. 6 was crossing against a "don't walk" sign.
“Most of these drivers, in fact probably all of them, would not have faced any charges in terms of moving violations if they had just stayed on the scene,” Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera said Tuesday.
About the Author
