KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A man has been convicted of striking and killing a motorcyclist in a May 2022 crash in Knoxville while intoxicated, the Knox County District Attorney’s office said.

According to a release from the DA’s office, Andres Antonio Tomas, 26, pled guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication and was sentenced to 10 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The release states that Tomas struck and killed a motorcyclist while he was driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

Prosecutors told the court that a Knoxville Police officer responded to a two-vehicle crash on Bruhin Road on May 15, 2022. The investigation found that Tomas had been driving a Honda Civic north on the road when he crossed the double yellow line and hit a motorcyclist driving south head-on. The impact of the crash killed the victim and broke the motorcycle in half. After the crash, Tomas left his car and fled on foot, the release states.

A few days after the crash, the victim was identified as Sharif Ahmaed, 29, who worked as a Porsche technician. A coworker told WATE that May 17 would have been Ahmaed’s 10th work anniversary with Harper Porsche.

Officers at the scene found an open beer in the center console as well as an empty case of beer in the back seat of Tomas’ Honda. Prosecutors say officers learned that the vehicle was registered to Tomas’ brother who lived nearby and found Tomas on the way there.

The release states that an officer obtained a search warrant to test Tomas’ blood, and an analysis from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that Tomas had a blood alcohol content of 0.148 along with Marijuana and Cocaine Metabolites in his system.

“This is another example of the dangers of impaired driving,” said DA Charme Allen. “We
prosecute DUI cases in the hope that strict enforcement and aggressive prosecution may
help prevent tragedies like the one in this case.”

The District Attorney says that after Tomas serves his sentence in Tennessee, he will be deported to Guatemala.