Juan Carlos Ramirez, 56, of Central, turned himself in at the city police station around 11 a.m. Monday, Central Police Assistant Chief Cliff Ivey said. Ramirez faces potential negligent homicide and hit-and-run charges for the crash that left Ryan Russell, 38. dead on March 11.
The deadly crash happened around 7:30 p.m. that night on Joor Road, police said at the time.
Witnesses told police they saw Russell standing in the center turn lane of the roadway retrieving items from the road that had fallen out of the bed of his truck before Ramirez's vehicle allegedly struck him and sped away. Russell was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives later reviewed footage from a license plate-reading camera a short distance from the crash that showed a red, four-door pickup driving away, which police said Monday they traced to Ramirez.
Ivey said police negotiated Ramirez's surrender with his lawyers. A call to the Baton Rouge firm representing him, Rozas and Associates, was not immediately returned.
Ivey said he and Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran are grateful for assistance in the investigation from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the Baton Rouge Police Department Traffic Homicide Unit and Louisiana State Police.
Corcoran has long advocated for the license plate reader technology, which works by scanning license plates and running them through a national database. Law officers can compare plate numbers to those in a database of stolen vehicles, or can trace cars possibly driven by people suspected of being involved in crimes.
They also have been used to track down missing people.
The cameras are priced at $2,500 each. The Central City Council recently approved the deployment of nine cameras on routes leading into the city.
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