A Valley man is facing endangerment charges after being accused of driving through an accident scene, nearly striking a Phoenix Police officer and a tow truck driver.
Court records show that on November 27, Hector Gonzalez Meza was driving an SUV when he went through the scene near 35th and Southern avenues, hitting a police SUV and a tow truck. He was reportedly intoxicated and not wearing any pants at the time of the crash.
Police said the 26-year-old turned himself in to police on Monday after being released from the hospital, where he was recovering from a broken hip.
According to court records, police responded to the November 27 accident around 4:20 a.m. after reports that the driver of a Mazda Miata had abandoned his vehicle after a collision.
Police contacted a tow truck to remove the Miata from the road, and used their police SUV's to block off the road. One officer saw a vehicle heading toward the accident scene, and used his flashlight to warn the driver. However, Meza continued and struck the police SUV, causing the officer to dive out of the way. Meza also struck both the Miata and the tow truck.
Police say the tow truck driver was underneath the car when he heard the collision with the police SUV and managed to push himself out from under the Miata before it was hit.
Police confronted Meza in his car and noticed he was pantsless, injured, and showing signs of intoxication. Meza was taken to the hospital with a broken hip. A blood draw revealed that he had a blood alcohol content of .232. Police say he was traveling over 60 mph when he hit the police SUV.
The tow truck driver and the officer suffered minor injuries from the collision.
Meza has been charged with two counts of endangerment.
