A 30-year-old man accused of causing a fatal crash that killed his wife and unborn child was granted bond Monday. But he’ll remain in the Gwinnett County jail while investigators check his immigration status.
Erasmo Carmelino Santos-Ordonez, of Norcross, was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, feticide by vehicle and failure to yield while turning left, all misdemeanors, following the Saturday night crash on Pleasant Hill Road, according to Gwinnett police.
Investigators believe Santos-Ordonez was driving a 1998 Honda Civic westbound on Pleasant Hill when he attempted a left turn onto Venture Drive, pulling into the path of a white 2001 Ford Econoline, driving eastbound, Cpl. Jake Smith with Gwinnett police said Monday.
The front-seat passenger in the Honda, Katerin Metina, had to be extricated from the vehicle, but died from her injuries, as did her unborn child, police said. Metina, 19, was eight months pregnant and the wife of Santos-Ordonez, family members told Channel 2 Action News in the courtroom Monday.
Another passenger in the Honda and one person from the van were both transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
The driver of the Ford, Miguel Zarate, 43, of Texas, was cited for driving without a license.
Sisters Lisa and Linda Dallas were at a nearby gas station at the time of the collision, which temporarily blocked a portion of Pleasant Hill late Saturday.
“It was devastating,” Lisa Dallas told Channel 2. “The car was just mangled. You couldn’t even tell what kind of vehicle it was.”
The crash remains under investigation.
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