We’re learning new details about the October crash where a Jeep slammed into the rock-filled median cage on the city’s main strip and the people inside ran. Police records released Monday to InMaricopa show the 2005 Jeep Liberty registered to a minor named Jeremiah Reyes was found perched on the rock barrier known as a gabion around 5: 45 a. m. Oct. 25 near Cobblestone Farms Drive on John Wayne Parkway. Witnesses told police they saw three males flee immediately after the crash. Inside the Jeep, officers reported finding live 9mm ammunition, THC vape cartridges and an empty alcohol container. But the driver was gone. A disoriented teen, identified as Aiden Mendez, was found nearby bleeding from his foot. According to the report, Mendez said he (in the backseat), fellow juvenile Isaiah Mora (riding shotgun) and Reyes had been heading southbound when the crash occurred, and that Reyes was driving. He told investigators he was the only intoxicated occupant and claimed Reyes was sober. Witnesses said the driver took off toward the KFC on John Wayne Parkway and then disappeared. Officers called local hospitals, but no one matching the description could be found. According to the report, someone later picked Reyes up and took him to Chandler Regional Medical Center for treatment. Dispatch logs show that later the same day, Reyes called police, identified himself as the driver and said he had fallen asleep at the wheel. He told officers he had gone to the hospital after the crash. City maintenance workers estimated the gabion barrier sustained more than $2,900 in damage. Police recommended charges including accident involving injury, failure to give information or aid, and reckless driving. But court records show no case under Reyes’ name in Pinal County. Mendez was cited for underage alcohol possession, according to the report. Investigators noted that Life360 tracking data from a phone associated with Reyes’ family helped piece together the sequence of events. No other vehicles were involved.
https://www.inmaricopa.com/new-report-kid-driver-in-gabion-hit-and-run-left-behind-booze-and-bullets/
New report: Kid driver in gabion hit-and-run left behind booze and bullets
