An adult man was struck and killed at around 20:30 on Saturday on Costanera Avenue in Coronel, in the Biobío Region, when a vehicle overturned. According to BioBioChile, the driver, who was allegedly drunk, was arrested by police.
According to that outlet, the victim was walking there with his daughter and son and died at the scene. The source does not provide the deceased man's identity or details about the children's condition.
Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Jiménez Nanis, commander of Coronel's Fourth Police Station, reported that the vehicle was driven by a 53-year-old person, accompanied by another man aged 46. According to the officer, both were apparently drunk.
Officers from that station arrived at the scene shortly after the accident and arrested the driver. The source does not indicate what happened to the passenger or whether he underwent a blood alcohol test, which measures the level of alcohol in the blood.
Police reported the case to the Flagrancy Prosecutor's Office, the unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office that handles crimes in which the suspect is caught while committing them or immediately afterward. At the time of BioBioChile's report, forensic examinations at the scene were still underway.
The case is in its initial stage. The driver is in custody and has not yet been formally notified of the investigation against him. This notification takes place at a hearing where prosecutors inform a pretrial judge that they are investigating him for a specific offense. He is presumed innocent until a verdict is reached.
The next step is the detention review hearing, at which a court reviews whether the arrest was lawful and prosecutors can formally notify the suspect of the investigation and request precautionary measures. The source does not report the date of that hearing or what offense he will be accused of.
