Driver accused in hit-and-run caught boarding a flight to Texas from Indiana, cops say

Kate Linderman
·2 min read
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A man accused in a fatal hit-and-run was arrested as he was boarding a flight from Indiana to Texas, police said.

Salvador Banales, 27, is facing several charges in connection with a 2 a.m. hit-and-run on March 9, according to court documents.

Attorney information for Banales was not listed.

Video footage from a nearby business in Indianapolis showed Banales driving a rented 2022 red Ford Mustang through an intersection, hitting three pedestrians and driving off, according to police.

All three victims were taken to a hospital, police said. One person, Brandon Breedlove, 27, died as a result of his injuries, the Marion County Coroner’s Office said, according to WTHR.

“He was a great guy all around,” Peyton O’Brien told WRTV. “He had so many friends but always showed up for all of them.”

Nine hours after the incident, Banales called police saying his rental car had been side swiped or possibly vandalized, court documents said. He told an officer he needed a report for insurance because he was returning his rental car later that day to catch a flight home to Texas.

While filing paperwork, the officer and a detective realized Banales’ car matched the description of the car involved in the hit-and-run.

Police inspected the rental car at the airport and found “what appeared to be human tissue and blood” on the car, according to court documents.

Banales was arrested as he was boarding a flight home to Houston, according to court documents.

Banales told police he had been in Indianapolis for a work convention, court records said. He was driving back to his hotel from a bar when he said he hit something, he told police.

“I just took off. I took off out of fear and panic,” he said, according to court documents.

Banales said he had drunk three beers between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. the night of the crash and had nothing else to drink at his hotel, according to court documents. However, police said he smelled of alcohol during his interview 13 hours later.

“I should’ve stopped. I just left. I didn’t think about it. I was just scared for what I’d done. I just made some bad decisions,” Banales told police.

According to court and jail records, Banales is charged with:

  • Two counts of “leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, catastrophic injury, or death to another person”

  • Two counts of leaving the scene of an accident

  • “Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury”

  • “Causing catastrophic injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated”

  • “Causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated”

  • False informing

Banales’ bond was set at $160,000, according to court documents.

He is scheduled to appear in court on March 13, according to jail records.

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