ROCHESTER, N.Y. — One man is dead after police say a drunk driver hit and killed a pedestrian on Rochester's east side.
The crash happened on Atlantic Avenue near Coventry Ave around 2 a.m. Monday.
Police say 27-year-old Michael Roderiques of Irondequoit was driving east on Atlantic Avenue when he struck 27-year-old Brian Daege of Rochester while he was crossing the street.
Daege died at the scene.
Dawn Child witnessed the crash from her home.
“I saw the ripples in the hood of the car,” she said. “When i saw the front of the car, I was like, ‘that is one horrible impact.’ That guy couldn’t have been doing less than 60 miles an hour.”
Child says an officer told her it was the worst impact he’d seen in 30 years.
But she says as shocking as the crash was, she’s not entirely surprised it happened on that stretch of Atlantic Avenue.
“It’s a straight shot. There's hardly any cops around most of the time. And they can get away with it. They get away with it all the time, so why not keep doing it,” Child said.
Child also says she's seen drunk drivers along the stretch, and hopes people will use ride-hailing or call a taxi instead.
Roderiques was arraigned Tuesday morning charges of first degree vehicular manslaughter and DWI, to which he pleaded not guilty. He's scheduled for a preliminary hearing for November 24 at 10:30 a.m. Bail was set at $7,000 cash, $24,000 bond.
Roderiques was previously convicted of DWAI in 2016.