Driver said he wasn’t going to jail after fatal hit-and-run, court record shows
A 27-year-old Wichita man accused of striking and killing a man with his car three days before Thanksgiving told his wife that he wasn’t going to jail before packing a bag and contacting his father to say goodbye, an affidavit released in the case showed.
Chance Flores-Leach was arrested after his wife called 911 to report that he had been involved in a hit-and-run. He later told officers he left the accident scene because he “had a suspended license, no insurance, and no tag that was current,” the affidavit said.
The collision happened near 3100 E. Central on Nov. 22 and was captured on video by a Dunkin’ Donuts surveillance camera. In the footage, Henry Collins could be seen walking from the south side of Central to the north. When he was in the middle of the eastbound lane, the affidavit said, Collins seemed to notice an approaching vehicle and tried to jump out of the way of an approaching van.
Collins was hit by the van, which stopped for several seconds after the crash before leaving through the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot, the court document said. Collins laid in the street for 50 more seconds without moving before being hit again, first by a red car and then by a silver Chrysler 300.
After being struck by the third car, Collins became wedged underneath it, and the driver pulled over at a nearby Spangles parking lot.
Wichita police officers and fire department personnel were able to lift the vehicle off Collins, who was taken to Wesley Medical Center nearby. He was pronounced dead around 7:17 p.m. that night, the affidavit said.
The drivers of the red car and of the Chrysler remained at the scene and spoke with detectives, and police determined a third driver was involved. That’s when Flores-Leach’s wife called 911, stating that Flores-Leach had arrived home and told her “he hit someone and thinks he killed them,” the affidavit said.
At the couple’s apartment, police found a gray Honda Odyssey with damage to the front passenger side windshield, the court document said. Flores-Leach’s wife confirmed that he had come home, said he hit someone and that he wasn’t going to jail before packing a bag and leaving. She also said that he had contacted his father to say goodbye because he knew she had called the police.
Flores-Leach was arrested the next day. He told police that he was on the way to Chipotle when someone ran in front of his vehicle. Flores-Leach said that he “tried to swerve but still hit the person with the right side of the vehicle,” the affidavit said
After pulling over in the Dunkin’ parking lot, he said he looked in the car’s mirror and thought he saw Collins moving. He then “freaked out,” the affidavit said, drove home and told his wife what happened.
Flores-Leach was charged with one count of second-degree, unintentional but reckless murder, and one count of failing to stop at an accident. He posted a $150,000 bond and is due in court again for arraignment on April 15.
