16 Jul 2020
A man was arrested earlier this month on several charges after his involvement in a hit-and-run crash in Tempe, where he drove an unlicensed vehicle and hit another car five times before fleeing the scene.
According to a report by ABC 15 in Phoenix, on the night of Wednesday, November 13th, Lorenzo Belmares, 42, was behind the wheel of an unlicensed Lexus when he rear-ended into another car near the intersection of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.
Eyewitnesses to the incident and the female driver of the vehicle that Belmares hit said he struck her vehicle a total of five times, pushing her into the intersection before driving away from the scene.
The woman told police officers at the scene following the incident that she was afraid for her life.
Belmares pulled the vehicle behind an area business just a short distance away and abandoned it. Witnesses flagged down Tempe Police officers responding to the crash and identified Belmares, who was fleeing the scene on foot. Police Officers detained and later arrested him.
Belmares told officers that he panicked and fled the scene of the crash because he had been carrying drugs with him at the time of the crash. Police found him in possession of nearly 100 Oxycodone, along with a burned piece of tinfoil that contained an unidentified substance.
Police have charged Belmares with reckless driving, driving an unlicensed vehicle, endangerment, aggravated assault, and hit and run.