Driver ID’d in fatal Modesto hit-and-run. Here’s what’s complicating the case.

As she spoke of the Jan. 10 hit-and-run collision that killed her oldest brother, Modesto resident Sybil Vaughan cried. Police know who the driver is, she said, but have not arrested the man. “They better do something," she said. "I don’t care who was behind (the wheel of) that car, they need to teach him a lesson.”

Gregory Tyrone Henderson, a 66-year-old Oakland resident who was visiting siblings in Modesto, was struck and killed on Tully Road in front of Big Valley Grace Community Church shortly before 5 a.m. that day.

Police say the driver of the Honda Civic that struck him was Ricardo Uribe, 29, of Modesto. He has not been arrested, and a few factors appear to be complicating the case.

Vaughan said she was told by police that Uribe might not be charged because he is “mentally challenged.” She added that she suspects he might not even be the driver, that somebody might have put him up to taking the blame.

There is no doubt investigators correctly identified Uribe as the driver, said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves. He possesses a valid California driver’s license, she said, and there’s no indication of drug or alcohol impairment at the time of the crash.

The Police Department would not confirm Uribe is mentally impaired. Graves said the results of the collision investigation will be sent to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation did determine Henderson was at fault in the crash, Graves said, because he was walking in the roadway, in violation of pedestrian laws. “Not that that negates the fact the driver did not stop,” she added.

Henderson, who was in Modesto for the holidays, was not found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, either, Graves said. Vaughan said her brother wanted to buy cigarettes that morning and went for a walk, thinking he’d find a store. “My other brother noticed he was gone for a long time,” she said. When they saw news reports of the hit-and-run collision, they contacted police to see if Henderson was the victim.

The native of Kansas City, Kansas, was one of 11 siblings, Vaughan said. “He was an amazing man. He was respectful,” she said of Henderson. “We loved our brother dearly. ... He was a really, really good person and we really miss him.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Driver ID’d in fatal Modesto hit-and-run. Here’s what’s complicating the case.."