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ST. GEORGE — One man is dead and another is in jail facing a felony after a fatal DUI auto-pedestrian crash Wednesday in St. George.
Around 6:45 a.m., officers were called to the scene of a car crash near 1300 W. Sunset Blvd. They found that a car had hit a man in his 60s while the man was trying to cross Sunset Boulevard.
A crash reconstruction team believes the man was trying to walk south from the corner of 1300 West when he was struck by the car, according to a statement from the St. George Police Department.
The man, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene due to his injuries.
Police say the driver of the car stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation before he was arrested. Police said his arrest was "directly related to the results of the (driving under the influence) investigation."
Melvin Jose Gomez Garcia, 23, of St. George, was later arrested and charged in Washington County's 5th District Court with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony. He is also charged with two infractions: failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and driving without a valid license.
Gomez allegedly told police he had smoked marijuana the night before the crash, and police noticed "his eyes were very watery and bloodshot," according to a police affidavit filed Wednesday. Police noted that he failed a field sobriety test and was placed under arrest shortly afterward. He was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical evaluation before he was booked into jail.
An officer noted multiple signs that indicated Gomez was under the influence of marijuana when he was evaluated at the police station, the affidavit states.
