The case of a defendant accused of killing a Dunwoody bicyclist in a Sandy Springs hit-and-run collision last year is heading to a grand jury after a Fulton County magistrate ruled Jan. 22 there is probable cause.
Felix Mayer was killed April 24 on Glenridge Drive just north of I-285 by a driver who fled the scene. Mayer was later honored with a “ghost bike” memorial on that street.
Leonardo Angulo Banos of Norcross was arrested last year by Sandy Springs Police officers and accused of hitting Mayer while talking on his cellphone. The charges Banos faces include two counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree; hit-and-run resulting in serious injury or death; reckless driving; improper lane change; speeding; and distracted driving while operating a wireless device.
Judge Debbie-Ann Rickman ruled that Banos’s case can go to a grand jury, which will decide if enough evidence exists to indict him and allow him to be prosecuted.
Sandy Springs Police Officer Charles Needham testified at the preliminary hearing and described some of the evidence. He said police identified Banos’s pickup truck in traffic camera videos as the vehicle involved in the crash. Needham said that he found damage to the truck that included “the imprint of the bicycle on the overhanging toolbox.”