No charges are being filed against the driver of a city-owned truck that fatally struck a homeless man laying in a drive-through lane of a Mendenhall Valley bank in June because the driver didn’t have a reasonable possibility of avoiding the collision, Juneau Police Department Chief Derek Bos said Tuesday.
Armando Sanchez, 38, was pronounced dead at a Seattle hospital after being medevaced there due to injuries suffered when he was hit by a City and Borough of Juneau vehicle shortly before 5 a.m. June 1 at the True North Federal Credit Union next to the Mendenhall Valley Post Office. Bos said that based on autopsy results from the state of Washington, which JPD obtained “within the last month or so,” both the local district attorney and CBJ attorney have determined “there’s no fault on the driver’s part.”
“It’s a combination of factors, but there’s video of the entire incident so we’re able to see very clearly what happened,” Bos said. “There’s no opportunity for the driver of the vehicle to see the gentleman who was laying in the roadway. There’s no way that he could have stopped in time once he did see him based on the distances and just the visibility there.”
Sanchez, who was an unhoused resident at the time of the incident, did not react when the vehicle appeared, indicting he may have been sleeping in the sheltered drive-through lane, Bos said. The Juneau Assembly this spring opted not to reopen a sanctioned campground for people experiencing homelessness, instead approving a “dispersed camping” policy where people resorted to finding their own spots throughout town.
A press release issued by JPD on June 12 noted dispatch received a call reporting the incident at about 4:55 a.m. June 1.
“The 58-year-old male caller was operating a white 2015 Chevy truck,” the release states. “He drove around a corner into the drive-through lane and did not see the man laying in the roadway immediately around the corner. When the caller stopped, the man sat up, was conscious and talking. It appeared that the cowling of the truck had rolled over the man.”
Bos said the driver, in addition to calling for help, also immediately attempted to provide aid to Sanchez. He was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment before being medevaced to Seattle.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
