Alexis Lopez-Rodriguez, 20, faced charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault for the January crash.
Kevin Bautista, 15, died at the scene.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
A driver who struck and killed a teenager and then fled the scene of the accident will not immediately face charges of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault.
Both charges against Alexis Lopez-Rodriguez were dismissed during a preliminary hearing Thursday.
A charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death against Lopez-Rodriguez was bound over to a Davidson County grand jury.
Police said Lopez-Rodriguez, 20, was behind the wheel of a Honda Accord that left Tusculum Road in Antioch and struck three teens on the sideway during the early morning hours of January 28.
Kevin Bautista, 15, died at the scene. His brother, Jhonathan Bautista, 14, and cousin, Rene Mendez, Jr., 16, were injured.
Police said Lopez-Rodriguez did not stop to render aid or notify police. Instead, he went to his home just yards from the wreck and had his father drive him to a hospital.
Susan Niland, spokesperson for the Davidson County District Attorney General, said Thursday the charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault were dismissed because the defendant tested negative for alcohol in the hours after the crash.
The case, however, remains under investigation as other toxicology test results are still being completed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, Niland said the case as a whole will be presented to the grand jury.
A federal immigration hold has been placed on Lopez-Rodriguez, who remains in the Metro jail.
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