Convicted drunk driver charged in fatal hit and run
CBC News | Posted: February 18, 2014 4:51 PM | Last Updated: February 19, 2014
Dilan Ursan accused of hitting Moises Morales early Monday morning
A 25-year-old man charged after a fatal hit-and-run crash early Monday morning has been convicted of drinking and driving offences twice in the past.
Moises Morales, 26, was hit and dragged by a car on Centre Street near 40th Avenue north at around 4 a.m. MT.
He was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition but later died from his injuries, police said.
Dilan Ursan has been charged with hit and run causing death and police say more charges are pending.
Police say Ursan left the scene but returned with his girlfriend and a friend more than four hours later to turn himself in.
"The remorse side of it ... was more due to the fact that our partners in the press put out the information against him and he realized that essentially the heat was on," said Sgt. Colin Foster.
"We were after him, [the press] was after him, the community was after him and I think he realized he better come forward."
Admitted to drinking, say police
Although Ursan admitted to drinking, police say alcohol-related charges can't be laid because of the time gap.
"Because we had that four-and-a-half hour gap from the collision until we actually had hands on with him, it would be exceptionally difficult to prove or disprove what he had to drink," said Foster.
"And we have to be realistic about what we can charge."
Ursan is currently not in custody but is expected back in court on Friday.
He pleaded guilty in March and May of 2008 for driving over the legal alcohol limit. Both convictions resulted in fines and a suspension of his licence.
Police are also looking for a witness who may have been a passenger in Ursan's vehicle at the time of the crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Calgary Crime Stoppers.
3 pedestrians killed so far in 2014
Morales' death comes after two other pedestrians were hit last week and an elderly man was struck in Bowness in mid-January.
Neighbours near the latest crash site say it's a particularly bad stretch — one where pedestrians have been hit before.
"I think at least getting the lines painted on the street and obviously putting up a crosswalk sign would be advantageous," said area resident Kevin Bentley.
Morales' family visited the street where he died Monday.
"It's so difficult to believe that he died, was killed," said his father Harold Chavarria. "We needed to come and see.... We needed to see how he was killed."
But police say pedestrian collisions have been on the rise since 2011.
With three deaths so far in 2014, the city has already seen almost half of the nine pedestrian fatalities that took place last year.