Yerson Ysaac Sanchez Rivera
A 24-year-old East Ridge man who was said to be drunk with no driver's license and no insurance has been charged in a grisly crash in the East Ridge Tunnel that killed three people.
Yerson Ysaac Sanchez Rivera, identified as a Venezuelan national, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in the Saturday morning incident.
He was also charged with three counts of duty to render aid after he got out of the wrecked car and tried to run off. Chattanooga Police apprehended him.
Other charges included DUI, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, and failure to exercise due care.
Police said Sanchez Rivera admitted to drinking a 12-pack of beer and driving 60-70 mph in a 40 mph zone at the time of the crash.
The victims were Kimberlyn Lopez Gallard, 29.
Edguar Medina, estimated to be 20-25, and Alexandra Vera, 24.
East Ridge officers responded to the scene at 5:56 a.m. and found that the vehicle had left the right side of the roadway. It went up the concrete wall and struck the railing of the tunnel. The railing penetrated the middle of the vehicle until final rest on the wall.
Officers observed a victim who may have been partially ejected from the vehicle suspended above the ground by her legs from the driver-side door frame bleeding heavily from her head and face.
There was also a man partially protruding from the backseat driver side bleeding heavily from his head and with bone protruding from his shoulder.
A nurse who was heading toward the tunnel from the East Ridge side said the vehicle went around her at a high rate of speed, then she witnessed the crash.
She said she saw the driver - described as an Hispanic male with no shirt on - trying to remove two victims from the wreckage. She said she told him to stop.
She said he then fled on foot going west through the tunnel toward the Chattanooga side.
The nurse said she found three victims in the car, and checked them to find that all three had no pulse.
When the man who fled was brought back to the scene, the nurse identified him as the driver, it was stated.
Sanchez Rivera suffered abrasions to his knee, back, hands and face and was transported to the hospital.
Staff at the emergency room commented on the odor of alcohol from him, police said.
Multiple beer cans were found inside the vehicle.
The tunnels were closed during an investigation, but later reopened.
East Ridge Police said they "wish to thank the Chattanooga Police Department Traffic Unit for providing manpower and assistance during the investigation."
Sanchez Rivera is currently being held on a $270,000 bond.