LIBERTY, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday night that a Liberty man will face felony hit-and-run charges related to the crash that killed 17-year old Daniela Trejo Mendiola on Aug. 20 in Alamance County.
According to the state highway patrol, Mendiola was walking on Oak Grove Church Road when she was hit by a car. Family members and some neighbors told WFMY News 2 that she was waiting in her boyfriend's driveway at the time of the incident.
Initially, the highway patrol said it wouldn't press charges on Joshua Thomas Brown, 38, who reportedly left the scene of the crash but later returned. Now, he is being held on a $50,000 secured bond and is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday.
The charges come after Alamance County troopers and investigators from their Collision Reconstruction Unit met with the District Attorney's Office on Tuesday. After an investigation, they decided to pursue charges against Brown.
This news will undoubtedly come as a relief to the Mendiola family, which has spent the majority of this week gathered with other supporters outside the Alamance County Courthouse. The family did this to try and push for justice in Daniela's case.
The Trejo Mendiola family released the following statement:
"We appreciate all the help and support from our community and even those outside of our community who have helped bring light to Daniela's case by sharing her story but especially those who took time out of their busy days to join us in the protests we held. We are aware he is in custody. We are in hopes that he is prosecuted to the highest extent as he took our sweet Daniela’s life and we will never get her back."
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