Background: News footage of Mache Darby in court in March (WSOC). Inset: Ryan Zadrozny (Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home).
A North Carolina man apologized to the family of the pedestrian he fatally struck with his car, saying the tragedy “could have been avoided.”
Mache Darby, 40, pleaded guilty to several felony charges, including second-degree murder, on Thursday and was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison. On Dec. 1, 2024, Darby was driving his Mercedes-Benz at a high rate of speed through a Charlotte, North Carolina, intersection. Ryan Zadrozny, 23, a New Jersey native who had been visiting friends, was walking through that intersection when Darby drove into him at 105 mph and “never stopped,” according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.
Zadrozny died at the scene, and Darby crashed his car after being chased by police.
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Darby was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He admitted to drinking tequila at the club before getting into his car and was determined to have been “impaired” at the time of the fatal hit-and-run.
Darby was held on $1.5 million bond after being charged with Zadrozny”s murder.
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According to reporting by WSOC, a local ABC affiliate, Darby was previously convicted of another fatal hit-and-run in 2011. He reportedly served 18 months in prison and 30 months of probation in that case.
On Thursday, a remorseful Darby appeared in court and looked at members of Zadrozny’s family, telling them, “I’m very, very sorry. This could have been avoided.”
Zadrozny’s uncle, Kevin Wallace, told WSOC, “The heartache just never ends,” adding, “No amount of punishment is going to justify or do anything to bring Ryan back.” According to WSOC’s reporting from the courtroom, “two sides walked out of here in tears.”
Darby pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, death by vehicle, hit-and-run resulting in serious injury or death, eluding arrest, and reckless driving.
