A Texas driver is accused of fatally hitting a pedestrian who went through the windshield and into the passenger's seat where he remained while the man drove on before going to a beer garden.
Paul Joseph Garcia Jr., 24, has been charged with second-degree felony intoxication manslaughter and a failure to stop and render aid in an incident that happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin reported.
An arrest warrant affidavit states that a man pushing a shopping cart was struck by a Ford Focus that continued on for about a half-mile, the station reported. According to the police document, a witness saw the suspect, later identified as Garcia, get out and "calmly" walk away from the car, according to the station.
An investigator wrote in the affidavit that the impact was so great that the victim's body went through the windshield and entered the front passenger seat. Police said Garcia drove for about a half-mile with the body in the seat before abandoning the vehicle and the victim, who has not been publically identified, KXAN reported.
A public information officer for the Austin Police Department did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment early Wednesday.
Garcia reportedly then walked to a beer garden, where he was distraught and in tears, the co-owner of the establishment told the station. Garcia wasn't served any alcohol. Police detained him at the beer garden and gave him a field sobriety test and found him unable to drive.
Garcia's case did not appear to be in online Travis County court records early Wednesday, and it was not clear if he has an attorney.
Online jail records indicated he was being held at the Travis County Correctional Complex in lieu of a total of $110,000 bail early Wednesday.
