Woman held in bike hit- and- run collision
Injured bicyclist hasmemory gaps
SAN JOSE — Marlene Melchor Cortes, a 24- yearold San Jose resident, was arrested Friday for allegedly running down a bicyclist and then crashing into Golfland in Milpitas before fleeing the scene in another vehicle April 12.
Milpitas police Lt. Max Nobida confirmed Monday the resulting police investigation developed leads that identified Cortes as the hitandrun driver who struck and severely injured 30year- old San Jose resident Robert Herrera.
“Our detectives located her in San Jose and arrested her in San Jose,” Nobida said.
Cortes was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on charges of felony hitandrun, he said.
On April 12 at 4: 36 p. m., Milpitas police say, a red four- door 2012 Nissan Sentra apparently traveling at a high rate of speed collided with Herrera at the northeast corner of Jacklin Road and the on- ramp of northbound Interstate 680.
After hitting the bicyclist, the Nissan continued through a perimeter fence on the edge of Golfland’s property at 1199 Jacklin Road, hit vegetation, crossed the parking lot as it struck other parked cars and then smashed into the business’ southwest corner.
The impact caused exterior damage to the business, but no one else was injured.
The hit- and- run driver, initially described by witnesses as an unknown Hispanic woman in her 20s, was seen limping away from the scene, and was able to flee with the help of a man in a second car who removed her from the Nissan. Both then drove away in what police say was a silver or gray Honda.
On Friday, Milpitas police Sgt. Sean Heneghan confirmed Cortes as the driver of the red Nissan was solely at fault.
“The bicyclist was standing on the sidewalk when the accident occurred,” Heneghan said. “Speed is a factor in the accident.”
According to Nobida, the second suspect has not been apprehended.
“That part is still under investigation,” Nobida said.
Following the incident, Herrera was transported to the hospital with severe injuries including broken ribs, a concussion and other trauma. He was released to his family’s care in San Jose This car collided with a bicyclist on Jacklin Road then with the Golfland store on April 12, and then the driver fled the scene, police said. A San Jose woman was arrested Friday. on April 14.
Herrera’s friend, 29year- old San Jose resident Joanna Kelley and her boyfriend, 32- year- old Milpitas resident Brian Mergen, started a GoFundMe account on April 15 to help pay for the cost of Herrera’s medical bills, which they surmise will exceed $ 10,000.
“My boyfriend and I wanted to do something to help his family,” Kelley told this newspaper.
As of Monday afternoon, their GoFundMe account raised more than $ 1,200 for Herrera. They have an eye on raising up to $ 10,000.
“We’ll probably keep it up for as long as we can,” Kelley said.
On the day of the crash, Kelley said Herrera was riding his bike to meet her boyfriend, Mergen.
“He was just visiting,” she said.
She added Herrera, an avid cyclist, regularly organizes long- distance rides with friends. Herrera was finishing one of these rides when the hit- and- run collision occurred.
Herrera is also a talented drummer who lends his skills to various bands in the Bay Area and has played shows all over California.
“He’s kind of like a metal head,” Kelley said.
On Friday, Kelley said her friend is still struggling to recover.
“He has memory gaps and his speech trails between stories when he is able to speak and it’s hard to decipher sometimes,” Kelley said. “He has no memory of the incident and has no further information besides what people have told him about what happened.”
To donate, go to gofund. me/ s9ha2e9c.