A bicyclist has died after being struck head-on by a person who was driving under the influence in East Windsor, police said.
Police said they responded to Route 5, or John Fitch Boulevard, around 4:30 p.m. for a serious crash.
Responding officers said a man riding his bike on the shoulder of traffic was struck head-on by a Chevy van.
Authorities said Samalier Rivera-Tirado, 32, of East Windsor, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and he later died.
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The driver, identified as 34-year-old Waldemar Serrano-Acevedo, was arrested after allegedly failing a sobriety test. He was held on a $1 million bond.
Serrano-Acevedo told responding officers he was coming home from work and must have fallen asleep because he woke up when he struck the bicyclist, according to an arrest warrant.
“His coworker told me that he said he was going to go home and catch up with sleep and then this happened,” Luis Serrano said.
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Serrano is the suspect's brother. He said the family has been going through a hard time and Serrano-Acevedo has been losing sleep. He believes this is a tragedy for both families.
“I just want to apologize to the family of the person that passed away, this is an accident that has been hard for everyone. For the other family [and] our family,” Serrano said.
Serrano-Acevedo appeared in court on Thursday. A judge lowered his bond to $700,000. He is expected back in court on April. 14
Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact them.
