The driver of a Jeep that rolled in the Marana desert, killing one of its passengers, was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, an official said.
The early Friday crash left another passenger injured and led to a ground and air search for Roberto Vargas, 33, of Tucson, said Sgt. Bill Derfus, a Marana Police Department spokesman.
After speaking with his attorney, Vargas turned himself in at an International House of Pancakes near Interstate 10 and West Cortaro Farms Road about 11:45 a.m. Friday, Derfus said.
Killed in the crash was Victor C. Robles, 22, of Somerton, which is just south of Yuma in the southwest corner of Arizona.
According to Marana police, Vargas was driving a yellow 1970 Jeep Wrangler on Linda Vista Boulevard just east of Camino de Manana about 1:15 a.m. As he was trying to get back on the road from the desert his Jeep, which had no top, rolled, killing Robles.
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Robles was in the back seat of the vehicle. Marty Padilla, 36, of Yuma, was in the front seat, Derfus said. He was taken to University Medical Center and later released, he said.
Vargas left the scene of the accident before officers arrived, but he turned himself in later after his attorney called Marana police.
It appears both passengers were wearing seatbelts, because neither was ejected from the vehicle, Derfus said.
Investigators learned from people at the scene that Vargas and the others may have been drinking in the desert and it appears speed and alcohol were factors in the deadly rollover, Derfus said.
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