Police arrest suspect in crash that injured two Marietta road workers

Police arrested a suspect in connection with the Sunday morning crash which injured two pedestrian construction workers in Marietta. The suspect has been charged with DUI, hit and run and several other charges.

Malik Branch, 23, is accused by police of hitting the two workers while driving drunk on Roswell Road under the Interstate 75 overpass, then fleeing the scene on foot before first responders arrived.

According to police, the crash occurred around 1:40 a.m. Sunday. Workers Jimmy Varraza and Oscar Aguilar were struck while placing a message board on the roadway for a lane closure.

Branch, of Dallas, was driving a gray 2019 Volkswagen Jetta eastbound when he struck the workers, per police. The workers were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital.

While Aguilar is recovering and has been released from the hospital, Varraza remains in critical condition, police said Wednesday.

Marietta Police arrested Branch Tuesday night and booked him into the Cobb County jail, where he remains. He is not eligible for bond.

According to an arrest warrant, police obtained video surveillance footage of Branch leaving Sage Restaurant and Lounge shortly before the crash, “stumbling and almost falling in the parking lot with a beer bottle in his hand.” The restaurant on Roswell Street is less than half a mile from the crash site.

The car Branch drove had two bald front tires, two rear tires inflated to double the recommended tire pressure, and a rear tire which was the wrong size, according to the warrant.

Branch has been charged with four felonies: two charges of hit and run and two charges of serious injury by vehicle. He also faces seven misdemeanor charges — DUI, failure to maintain lane, driving on a suspended license, driving with suspended registration, driving without insurance, driving without a seatbelt, and driving an unsafe/improperly equipped vehicle.