CMPD says impaired driver hit, killed man uptown and fled from police
A 37-year-old motorist was impaired when he hit and killed a pedestrian in uptown and then drove away early Sunday morning, police said.
Mache Ulysses Darby was speeding in a Mercedes Benz near the 300 block of West Morehead Street around 2:12 a.m. when he struck Ryan Zadrozny, who was crossing the road, a CMPD press release said Monday. Darby then fled the scene, police said.
Zadrozny was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other pedestrians were crossing the street at the time, but were uninjured, the press release said. An arrest warrant said the crash happened at West Morehead Street and South Mint Street.
Police said they found Darby’s vehicle a few blocks away and tried to pull him over but he drove off.
Darby then drove 15 mph over the speed limit down West Palmer Street and South Mint Street and crashed, causing $1,000 in property damage, according to an arrest warrant and the press release.
Darby was charged with second-degree murder. He was also charged with felony death by vehicle, felony hit and run, felony flee to elude, and reckless driving.
He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No bond was allowed.
He killed a man in 2011
In 2011, Darby was arrested for hitting and killing 55-year-old Robert Gunter Hall on Albermarle Road near W.T. Harris Boulevard. He pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run and was sentenced to over a year in prison, but that time was suspended if he completed 30 months of supervised probation, according to court records.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify Darby’s sentence in the 2011 case based on court records uploaded to the state portal on Dec. 4, after this story was initially published.
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 1:44 PM.
