Fairfield Hit-and-Run Goes To Court

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January 09, 2017
Edward Smith

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Fairfield Hit-and-Run Goes To Court

Devin R. Robles, a 19-year-old male resident of Fairfield, was ordered on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, to appear at a jury trial for counts of five felonies related to a hit-and-run collision that resulted in the death of a 57-year-old man who had been collecting recyclables in Fairfield just before dawn on July 9, 2016.

Driving Under the Influence & Hit and Run

Robles has been incarcerated since he was arrested at the scene of the incident and faces two felony charges of driving under the influence, a felony charge of hit-and-run, a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter, and a charge of driving on the incorrect side of the roadway leading to an accident causing injury.

What Happened?

The collision happened at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Sunset Avenue in Fairfield when Robles apparently lost control of his vehicle while driving north towards the intersection at about 4:50 a.m. Police testified that Richard McClain had been riding his bicycle in the crosswalk of the intersection and hauling a trailer full of recyclables when Robles’ vehicle crashed over the median divider and broadsided him.

Suisun City Police Responded

Two police officers from the Suisun City Police Department responded to the incident. When they arrived, they found only the crashed vehicle and an unconscious McClain. One officer checked McClain’s pulse, but couldn’t find it and proceeded to attempt CPR while the other officer interrogated a witness who described Robles leaving the scene of the accident.

Officer and Suspect Testimonies

One of the responding officers, Bryan Hamilton, testified that he went to search for the driver of the vehicle that had reportedly fled the scene of the crash and found Robles walking away from the collision on Sunset Avenue. Hamilton said that Robles’ clothing was sopping wet and filthy with muck from an irrigation canal nearby.

Allegedly, Robles indicated to Hamilton that his car had been stolen earlier that night and that he had found the vehicle in a nearby body of water where two men were fleeing from the car. Later on, according to Hamilton, Robles changed his account of the incident and allegedly admitted that he had crashed into McClain, exited his car in order to check on the cyclist, was not able to find a pulse, and subsequently ran into a field near the scene of the crash before he crossed through the canal and returned to walking along Sunset Avenue.

Driving Drunk

Additionally, Hamilton testified that Robles claimed that before the accident happened he had been at a party where he had drank four beers just before leaving at about 1 a.m. Prosecutors reported that Robles’ blood-alcohol level at the time of his arrest was 0.14 percent.

Robles’ bail is currently set at $135,000.

Related Articles by Ed Smith:

Fairfield Hit and Run Injury & Wrongful Death Lawyers

I’m Ed Smith, a Fairfield auto accident lawyer. If you, a relative, or a person who is close to you has been injured in a traffic collision because of the negligence of a drunk or otherwise distracted driver, call me at (707) 564-1900 for friendly, free advice. Elsewhere, I can be reached without toll at (800) 404-5400.

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