The man who hit two men coming out of a downtown nightclub early
Sunday morning surrendered himself and his vehicle to police Monday
afternoon, police said.
The man who hit two men coming out of a downtown nightclub early Sunday morning surrendered himself and his vehicle to police Monday afternoon, police said.
Brian Timothy Ozanne, 28, went to the Gilroy Police Department at 2 p.m. Monday, saying he hit two people with his vehicle during the weekend, police said. Police arrested him for two counts of hit and run with injury.
At 1:30 a.m. Sunday, two men were leaving a nightclub and crossing Monterey Street when they were hit by a late model Black Dodge Charger, which had with a rear spoiler and damage to the left front end, police said. The driver had been speeding through the downtown.
One of the men, a 28-year-old from Castroville, was dragged several feet by the vehicle and left badly wounded in the center median, police said. He was airlifted to a trauma center and was released later that day. Another man, whose age and residence were not disclosed, had minor cuts and scrapes.
On Monday, Ozanne told police that the vehicle was at an undisclosed address in Morgan Hill, police said. Police then went to the address, impounded the vehicle and collected other, undisclosed evidence.
The damage to the vehicle was consistent with that which would be caused by the impact described in witness accounts, police said. The vehicle was also consistent with evidence collected at the scene of the incident Sunday morning.
The hit and run marked the 10th major incident downtown this year, including several armed robberies, a sexual assault and a stabbing death, and Police Chief Denise Turner is working toward opening a downtown substation to increase police presence.
“The substation will happen,” she said. “We’ll make it happen. Money’s tight right now, but we’ll figure it out.”
She also led the department earlier this month as they hammered out a crime strategy that targets the top crimes and offenders, she said. Together, they will hone in on gang-related and violent crimes.
Councilman Craig Gartman lamented the downtown incidents and said the council should reconsider how its citywide hiring freeze may be hampering police services, but he shied away from ringing the alarm bell.
“I think overall we need to reevaluate our strategy as far as police staffing goes,” Gartman said. “But sometimes these things happen in a group, and all of a sudden it raises awareness, but then nobody pays attention when it goes back down. That’s not newsworthy.”
Anyone with information may call Cpl. Justin Matsuhara at 846-0350 or 846-0330 to remain anonymous.
