DANVILLE, Va. – A man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a deadly hit-and-run in Danville, according to the Danville Police Department.
Officers responded to the 200 block of Main Street around 8 p.m. Thursday after receiving a report about an intoxicated man. According to police, the caller said the suspect, 25-year-old Richard Omar Morales of Sharpsburg, Kentucky, had inappropriately touched a woman at a restaurant. Morales then reportedly left the scene in a truck, hit the JTI fountain and sped away westbound on Memorial Drive in a white 2019 GMC Denali.
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After passing the intersection of Primrose Drive and Memorial Drive, Morales allegedly passed another vehicle on the right at a high rate of speed, hit a guardrail and lost control of the truck. Police say he crossed into oncoming lanes and struck a 2013 maroon Kia Optima head-on. The driver of the Kia, identified as 23-year-old Brandon Lovelace Martin of Clover, Virginia, died at the scene, authorities said.
Morales was taken to SOVAH Danville for medical treatment and later released.
He has been arrested and charged with the following offenses:
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Two counts of hit and run
- Two counts of property damage
- Trespassing
- Assault and battery
- Sexual battery
Morales is being held in the Danville City Jail without bond. The Danville Police Department said additional charges are pending.