MORGAN HILL—A pedestrian struck and killed on Easter Sunday by an impaired motorist who fled the scene of the accident in south Morgan Hill has been identified as 37-year-old Alberto Sanchez, of Gilroy, according to the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office.
Edgar Benitez Martinez, of Morgan Hill, was arrested April 5 on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit and run after allegedly fleeing the scene of the fatal collision, which also left a juvenile injured, the Morgan Hill Police Department said in a statement.
Martinez was driving a pickup truck westbound on Tennant Avenue from U.S. 101 just before 6:50 p.m., when he allegedly drifted off the right-hand shoulder and smashed into the rear of a parked vehicle, according to the MHPD. At the moment of impact, Sanchez was standing behind the car; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A juvenile passenger inside Sanchez’s vehicle was injured and taken to a local trauma center in an ambulance. The juvenile has since been released to a family member, police said.
Despite sustaining moderate damage to the front of his pickup truck, Martinez allegedly continued driving westbound on Tennant Avenue. An off-duty MHPD officer witnessed the collision and followed the suspect as he turned onto Juan Hernandez Drive, according to the MHPD.
Martinez was arrested near his Morgan Hill home and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of hit and run and driving under the influence.
Investigators are asking any witnesses to the collision to call MHPD Sgt. Bill Norman at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.
