SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas driver involved in a fatal pedestrian accident was moved from the hospital to a jail on Sunday.
On March 11, Tyrone Carter, 55, of Newton, was killed and a 21-year-old driver was critically injured after a vehicle-pedestrian crash in south Wichita, according to a media release from police.
Just before 10p.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to the 1200 block of South Topeka for a report of a vehicle crash and a man lying in the street. When they arrived, officers found a white Ford Focus that had collided with a parked vehicle. The 21-year-old driver, later identified in county booking records as Martin Tovar-Tavares, was located inside the car and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
Carter was found lying in the roadway and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Wichita Police Department’s Critical Accident Team responded and is leading the investigation. Preliminary information indicates Martin Tovar-Tavares was traveling south in the car on Topeka when he struck Carter who was walking in the roadway, before crashing into a parked vehicle.
Tovar-Tavares was admitted to the hospital under police watch and custody. On Sunday, he was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail. Alcohol and speed are believed to be contributing factors in the crash. On Monday, he was charged with second-degree murder and remains jailed on a $500,000 bond, according to the district attorney's office.