Intoxicated driver arrested in hit-and-run crash with pedestrian in Utah County

BENJAMIN, Utah County — A 23-year-old Santaquin man who police say hit a pedestrian on Sunday and drove off has been arrested.

Gabriel Fulgencio was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of negligently operating a vehicle causing serious injury, leaving the scene of an injury accident, drug possession, DUI and use of drug paraphernalia.

Sunday morning, Utah County Sheriff's deputies were called to the area of 3100 West and 7300 South on a report that "a male walking on the road was struck by a black Ram pickup truck who did not stop," according to a police booking affidavit. "Deputies learned that the victim in the accident suffered substantial bodily injury and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition."

A deputy responding to the scene spotted a black pickup truck with front-end damage and pulled it over.

The driver, Fulgencio, "stated he was coming back from a get-together at a friend's house and stated he may have been in an accident," the affidavit states. "Gabriel stated he may have hit something but was not sure … Gabriel stated he was driving and hit something but did not stop. When asked why he didn't stop, he stated he was scared so kept driving."

Deputies described Fulgencio's reaction as "shock" when told he had allegedly hit a person, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that Fulgencio was arrested at about 9:30 a.m. He told police he stopped drinking about 4 a.m.

"Due to Gabriel admitting he had been drinking only hours prior to my interaction, I requested he perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to determine his ability to drive, which he agreed to do. At the conclusion of the tests, I had observed a sufficient number of clues to determine that Gabriel was impaired and unsafe to operate a motor vehicle," according to the affidavit.

A breath test measured Fulgencio's blood-alcohol level at 0.139%, or nearly three times the legal limit.

Additional information about the injured man was not immediately available.

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