The man who was allegedly driving a van that struck a motorcycle in a fatal crash last month has been arrested in Martinsville, Indiana, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
A Saturday morning update from DGSO alleges that the driver was 28-year-old Jose Alfredo Galiano Mesa, of Overland Park.
Brooklyn Brouhard, 10, of Eudora, was the passenger on a motorcycle driven by Barry Larson, 54, also of Eudora, when the two were struck by a van on East 1900 Road on Saturday, May 14. Witnesses reported that the driver of the van proceeded down the ramp, leaving its bumper behind, and returned to eastbound K-10, according to DGSO.
Brouhard and Larson were both taken to an area hospital after the crash, but Brouhard died the next morning.
Investigators located the van, and subsequently determined who was driving. A warrant had been issued for the driver’s arrest.
“Authorities in Indiana located a vehicle with Mesa inside and took him into custody, and the Sheriff’s Office will now work on getting him extradited to Kansas to face charges in Douglas County, Sheriff Jay Armbrister said,” according to Saturday’s news release.
“… Mesa had been in Lawrence earlier in the day on May 14 for a painting job and was driving back to the Kansas City area,” according to the release.
The sheriff’s office alleges that the reason the alleged driver’s identity was not made public was connected to his immigration status.
All arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless and until they are convicted.
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