A Lansing driver is wanted for fatally hitting a bicyclist near Villa Cesare in Schererville last year.
Damian M. Garcia, 22, was charged Friday with several felonies, including reckless homicide.
He has not been apprehended and is ordered held on a $75,000 or $7,500 cash surety bond.
Garcia told police he and his brother were headed home from Planet Fitness in Schererville. He was passing a red car behind Home Depot when he barely saw two bicyclists coming the opposite way.
He avoided a woman, but hit the man head on, according to court documents.
Schererville Police responded just before 9 p.m. May 22, 2023 to 900 Eagle Ridge Drive where Alfredo Munoz, 58, of Dyer was lying in the road between both entrances to Villa Cesare.
He was struggling to breathe and asked paramedics for oxygen, according to court records.
He was transported to Franciscan Health Crown Point where he was pronounced dead at 4:23 a.m. the next morning.
Munoz’s wife told officers they were riding south in the center turn lane when a black car was headed north. She heard her husband scream when the car hit him.
He was taken to the hospital with suspected internal bleeding. He made it through the first surgery, but started to “deteriorate” after a shot to prep him for more surgery. Toxicology tests from the time of the crash came back clean.
The woman in the red Chevrolet Sonic said Garcia blew a stop sign and had been “tailgating” her as she drove 20 mph. He was “side-by-side” with her when the crash happened. Part of Munoz’s bike hit her car. Both Garcia and she pulled over. She told cops she was delivering pizzas and had a dash camera on.
Garcia said he pulled over to see if everyone was OK. He went to the Schererville Police station the next day where he gave them permission to impound his car.
There was no digital crash data from his car, because the airbag didn’t go off.
The affidavit stated Garcia was driving recklessly and improperly passing the other car just before the crash.
He was charged with one count of reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, one count of criminal recklessness, a level 6 felony, three counts of criminal recklessness, all level 6 felonies, and two misdemeanors.
