Two days after an Alpharetta man was killed by a hit-and-run driver in front of his nephew, Forsyth County officials announced Thursday that a suspect is in custody.
Agapito Romo Vazquez, 48, faces charges of first-degree homicide by vehicle, felony hit-and-run and driving without a license, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said. He is accused of fatally striking 70-year-old Joaquin Vega on Tuesday evening in the area of Atlanta Highway and Tidwell Road.
Deputies and fire crews responded to the scene around 8:30 p.m. after getting word that a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle that drove away. Investigators said Vega was struck in the middle of the road as he tried to cross. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Vega’s nephew was across the street and looked up at the moment of impact, according to the sheriff’s office. He was able to describe the vehicle to investigators, who then tracked down a car matching that description at a home in the 6400 block of Atlanta Highway on Wednesday night.
“Not only did this person hit an individual, leaving them to die on the side of the road without offering any assistance whatsoever, within one day they had changed the windshield, changed the registration on the vehicle, they had cleaned the vehicle,” Sheriff Rob Freeman told Channel 2 Action News.
Detectives located the company used for the windshield repair and were able to recover the broken, bloodied windshield, sheriff’s office spokesperson Stacie Miller said.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 770-781-3087.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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