AUSTIN — AUSTIN -- A suspect allegedly struck and killed a man with his vehicle in North Austin and left the scene without checking to see if the victim needed medical attention.
Tuesday, police identified the man killed as 60-year-old Robert Copeland. According to police, Rafael Padilla, 28, is accused of failing to stop and render aid to Copeland -- a second-degree felony.
At around 2:10 a.m. May 7, police said they found the man deceased along with a wheelchair near the 7800 block of the North Interstate Highway 35 southbound service road.
According to preliminary investigation, its believed the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling in the right lane of the service road just south of Wonsley Drive when he struck the man. The victim was in the right lane of travel on the service road. It is unknown why he was in the roadway and he was pronounced dead on scene.
Investigators said they were able to collect debris from the scene of the crash that led them to the conclusion that a Jeep was involved in the incident. Police said they began looking into Rafael Padilla and his father, the owners of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip.
Padilla's father spoke to authorities in an interview and explained that his son informed him that he had crashed into something and that he took the car to a repair shop.
Police said they went to the repair shop and found the vehicle suspected of being involved in the deadly crash. Police said the damage was consistent with the damage done to the wheelchair; they also found parts of the wheel trim that matched the debris found at the scene, according to the documents.
Police said they interviewed Padilla on May 11 and read him his Miranda rights. According to the affidavit, he told police that before the crash, he was driving his brother and a friend home from a bar. He said his eyes were itchy while driving and admitted to using his knees to steer the vehicle. Padilla told police that when he stopped scratching his eyes, he saw an object in front of him, to which he swerved left to avoid it. However, Padilla said his vehicle struck the object anyway and admitted that the impact was hard.
Padilla told police he pulled his vehicle over and feared that someone had placed the object in the middle of traffic to get him to pull over, in an attempt to rob him.
Padilla said he called his father after the crash, and his father asked him why he didn't call 911. Padilla responded that it "didn't come to mind."
As of Monday, May 14, jail records do not show Padilla in the Travis County jail.