The 52-year-old Canadian national charged with causing a deadly, chain-reaction wreck did stop and call police after the crash.
But he drove about 10 miles from the scene of the Marietta crash and called 911 after about an hour, according to Atlanta police records. Dannie Albert Mondor called police at 2:48 p.m. Saturday from the parking lot of the Walmart on Howell Mill Road, according to a report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Mondor surrendered Tuesday afternoon and was booked into the Cobb County jail, where he was being held without bond.
Mondor is charged with driving an RV southbound on I-75 in Cobb County on Saturday when he switched lanes near Delk Road and struck the back of a white Toyota Camry around 1:45 p.m., police said. The impact caused the Camry to cross all lanes of I-75 and hit a black Toyota Prius and two other vehicles, Marietta police said. The Prius struck the median wall and flipped, killing a front seat passenger.
“It happened right in front of him,” Officer David Baldwin said Monday.
But Mondor was not at the scene of the wreck when emergency responders arrived, according to police. On Monday, police released a description of the RV believed responsible and Mondor’s name, but investigators were unsure of Mondor’s whereabouts. Police charged Mondor with first degree vehicular homicide and hit-and-run, both felonies, and improper lane change after tips from witnesses helped identify him through his tag number.
Mondor, who also owns a home in Cape Coral, Fla., was encouraged to surrender, Baldwin said. Late Monday, police in Florida located the RV believed to be involved.
Outside the Cobb jail Tuesday afternoon, Mondor’s attorney called the charges the result of a lack of communication between two police departments and expressed sympathy to the family involved.
“After the accident, Mr. Mondor stopped his vehicle along with a lot of other vehicles,” attorney Scott Semrau told reporters. “He absolutely called the police and he waited for the police to arrive.”
Mondor provided an Atlanta officer with information about the crash and with his personal information, Semrau said.
“To characterize Mr. Mondor as a hit-and-run driver is terribly unfair to Mr. Mondor,” Semrau said.
The victim in the Prius, Bradley Braland, 40, of Winter Garden, Fla., was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected in the crash. He died at the scene. A woman driving the Prius sustained minor injuries and was treated at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. A 4-year-old boy in the back seat was uninjured, police said.
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