Fatal hit-and-run: Witness, QR code helped police find driver
The DA's office has charged Nickolaus Messina with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death.
New court records reveal how a witness and a QR code helped police track down a suspected drunken driver after a fatal hit-and-run crash in Berkeley this week.
The Alameda County district attorney's office has charged Nickolaus Messina with two felonies in connection with the Nov. 3 crash at Ashby Avenue and Regent Street that killed Dawn Marie Matthews, 64, of Hercules.
Messina, a 66-year-old Oakland resident, faces charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run resulting in death, according to court records filed Thursday.
Berkeley police say a witness encountered Messina driving a gray Kia Soul near Russell Street and Pine Avenue just before the fatal crash.
Messina said he had been drinking and was slurring his speech, the witness told police.
As Messina left, the witness photographed the Kia, remembered part of its license plate and called BPD to report a suspected drunken driver, police wrote.
Investigators also recovered debris from the crash scene that helped identify the involved vehicle, authorities said.
One piece of the debris contained a QR code linked to a 2023-25 Kia Soul, police wrote.
Using witness statements, evidence from the scene and Flock license plate reader cameras, police identified the vehicle and tracked its movements toward San Rafael, over the Golden Gate Bridge and eventually back to Berkeley.
Officers stopped Messina on eastbound Interstate 580 near the Berkeley-Albany border. Police said he showed signs of intoxication, including slurred speech, an unsteady gait and a strong odor of alcohol.
At Berkeley Jail, Messina refused field sobriety tests but agreed to preliminary breath testing, which produced readings of 0.121 and 0.116, according to court papers.
Messina subsequently refused additional testing, prompting police to obtain a warrant for a blood sample.
During a later interview, Messina reportedly told investigators he had consumed multiple shots of brandy that morning, followed by two more shots between 4 and 5 p.m., less than three hours before the fatal crash.
He also acknowledged that damage to the front driver's side of his Kia Soul was new but said he did not remember hitting anything, police wrote.
Messina remains in custody without bail at Santa Rita Jail, according to court records. His next court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
