Michael Byrnes, 29, was taken into custody by officers in the Vacaville Police Department's Traffic Unit just before 3 p.m. at an apartment complex off Alamo Drive in south Vacaville. Police worked with the Solano County District Attorney's Office and the arrest warrant, which was signed Monday, was the culmination of an extensive police investigation that Vacaville police Sgt. Matt Lydon said involved repeated witness interviews and total reconstruction of the accident scene.
"The issue with this investigation and how many months its took ... to get to this point, is because we had some uncooperative people who have been trying to hide the truth from us," Lydon said.
The victim in the crash, 30-year-old Jenney Coons, was a passenger in Byrnes' car when he lost control of his vehicle on March 7, police said.
According to investigating Officer Nate Benevides, the two left the Elmira bar in a 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 at about 3:30 a.m., heading west on Elmira Road toward Vacaville. Police said Byrnes was traveling "a minimum of 100 mph" when he lost control of the car on the second half of an "S" curve, about half a mile outside of Elmira.
The car swerved to the left and off the roadway, where it smashed into a tree before finally coming to a rest in a ditch along
the south side of the roadway, Benevides said.Byrnes allegedly climbed out of the crushed car through a gaping hole that had been torn in the back of the vehicle, police said.
Meanwhile, not knowing his girlfriend had been involved in a crash, Coon's boyfriend had gone looking for her after she didn't return home, police said. He happened upon Byrnes and the wrecked car, and, after giving him a ride back to the bar, learned his girlfriend had accepted a ride home that night and began piecing things together, police said. He raced back to the accident scene where he found Coons and called 911.
Lydon said Byrnes was given a ride home before police and other emergency personnel arrived.
Coons was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, police said, and was launched across the inside of the vehicle and hit the windshield in front of the driver's seat, resulting in head injuries. Coons was flown by CALSTAR air ambulance to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, where she immediately underwent surgery, police said.
"She's making a recovery," Lydon said of Coons, who is once again walking and talking, but remembers nothing of the crash, "but it's been slow."
Nancy Miliam, Coons' grandmother who is currently caring for her, said she was thankful to hear of the arrest in the case, but has no ill will toward Byrnes.
"I don't wish him any hatred," she said. "But I want my granddaughter back the way she was."
Miliam went on to say that Coons is improving every day, although doctors said it is doubtful she will be the same as before the accident -- "but she's doing more than we thought she would," Miliam added.
"I hope he realizes what he's done," Miliam said of Byrnes, her voice breaking with emotion. "I don't wish this would happen to him or to anyone else, because it's hell."
Lydon said the tragic crash serves as a warning to the dangers of driving under the influence.
"If you flee an accident scene, a felony DUI with traumatic injuries like this, and you try to cover the story, it may take a little while but the ending is going to be the same for you," he said.
Byrnes was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of felony DUI, felony hit and run and felony reckless driving. Bail has been set at $100,000.
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