Man hit by car, left to die

Esekiel Smith

A man was pronounced dead over the weekend after being hit by a car and left for dead in Puerto Rico.

Social media outlets blew up over the weekend with posts about a man who was left for dead by the side of the road after being hit by a dark Mazda 3 that was being driven by an unknown driver.

Yesterday, the Department of Public Safety identified the driver as 30-year-old Esekiel Smith, who has been detained at the Department of Corrections since Sunday, Aug. 19.

Smith reportedly turned himself in to DPS at 6:50pm on Sunday, accompanied by his wife. Smith refused to be questioned but his wife allegedly told police that Smith had told her about hitting a pedestrian in Puerto Rico sometime after midnight and leaving the scene.

On Sunday, at approximately 3:37am, DPS received a call reporting an auto-pedestrian incident adjacent to the Commonwealth Utility Corp./Best Sunshine power plant. Upon arriving at the scene, officers met with the caller who had reported the incident.

According to the caller, he was heading north when he noticed a man lying on the ground. He immediately stopped to call the authorities.

DPS reported that the victim had noticeable injuries, was unconscious, and was partially lying on the shoulder of the northbound outer lane.

Medics arrived shortly after and rushed the victim to the Commonwealth Health Center where he was pronounced dead at 4:01am.

According to DPS, further investigation uncovered that the victim had been involved in a disturbance earlier Saturday evening in San Vicente where he sustained injuries from an altercation with a family member and was rushed to CHC, together with the family member. The two had another altercation in the hospital and the victim left on foot at 1:44am on Sunday.

Last Monday at 2:32pm, Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio set Smith’s bail at $100,000 for operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license, failure to exercise due care to a pedestrian, leaving the scene of an accident without rendering assistance, and homicide by vehicle.

DPS public information officer Jackie Rae said the incident is the fourth fatal car accident this year.

Last June, a female tourist who was walking with a friend on the shoulder of Beach Road in southern Garapan was injured when a vehicle mowed her down in an alleged attempt to rob her.