An alleged hit-and-run driver has been charged after a pedestrian was struck and killed in Donelson.
Metro Nashville Police officers said Huzefa Bakie, 40, of India was hit and killed in the incident. He and two co-workers had traveled to the United States to attend a training program sponsored by their employer.
They were walking westbound on Elm Hill Pike to a restaurant on Donelson Pike when Bakie was hit by a 1997 red Ford pickup truck. He died at the scene.
A witness told police the truck had stopped because a lane was blocked for construction. Once the congestion cleared, Taylor allegedly accelerated at a high rate of speed.
The driver of the pickup truck, 45-year-old Billy Taylor, drove away from the scene.
The other person who was hit was taken to Skyline Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. A third person was not hurt.
Taylor turned himself in Sunday night. During an interview, Taylor said he thought he had hit a construction barrel on Elm Hill Pike, but that when he arrived at his McCrory Creek Road apartment, it was clear he had struck a person.
Police said Taylor showed signs of impairment, and acknowledged regularly smoking marijuana. A sample of his blood will be analyzed for drug content.
He was charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. He allegedly told police he panicked because he did not have a valid driver's license or insurance.
