Lawrence Martinez Sentenced In Evansville Hit And Run Case

An Evansville man is heading to prison for his involvement in a hit-and-run that critically injured a young boy.

Forty-four-year-old Lawrence Martinez was sentenced to nine-to-10 years in prison, after he entered an Alford plea to one charge of aggravated assault and battery.

In mid-August, police were called to the intersection of Copper Avenue and Sierra Vista in Evansville, where witnesses told investigators that a child on a scooter had been struck by a pickup.

One witness said the truck pulled onto Copper Avenue at a high rate of speed, swung wide into the opposite lane, hit the child and never stopped.

The child was critically injured and life-flighted to Denver.

Officers were informed that there was a barbeque grill in the back of the truck at the time of the collision and a piece of a bug guard was found at the scene.

It was later determined that the vehicle belonged to Martinez and that there was a dent in the front that was consistent with the crash information provided by witnesses.

Police executed a search warrant on the vehicle and noticed that the bug guard had been recently removed.

The data recorder inside the vehicle indicated that it was going 22 miles per hour with 97% throttle about one second before impact.

When interviewed, Martinez said he was the driver on the night in question and that he had been drinking, but did not drive down Copper Avenue.

Investigators then found the store where Martinez had purchased alcohol earlier on the day of the collision and upon reviewing the security camera recording, say they saw Martinez’s vehicle with the barbecue grill in the back and the bug guard in tact on the front hood.

He has four prior felony convictions.