INDIANAPOLIS — A military veteran hit on Massachusetts Avenue this past weekend is being honored for donating his organs.
It came on the same day that the man accused of hitting the 27-year-old and two of his friends appeared in court, asking a judge to return home to Texas until his trial this summer.
On the same day her son became an organ donor, Brandon Breedlove's mom learned the man accused of hitting and killing her son and then taking off from the scene this past weekend will be allowed to leave the state if he posts bail.
With music playing in the background, quiet sobs could be heard in a hallway at IU Health Methodist Hospital.
The tears were coming from people, many of them saluting Breedlove as he was wheeled past them in a hospital bed, his mother walked alongside, holding onto the bed's railing.
Breedlove, who served his country in the United States Air Force, will now serve others again as an organ donor.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. Saturday, March 9 at the intersection of Massachusetts and College avenues. Two other pedestrians were also hit.
According to court documents, the driver, 27-year-old Salvador Banales, was arrested 13 hours later at the Indianapolis International Airport just as he was about to fly home to Houston, Texas.
Banales told police he'd been in town for a work conference and had a few beers Friday night and hit something as he drove back to his hotel. Banales told police he panicked and drove off.
Court documents show Banales called police hours later to report someone had sideswiped his car the night before while it was parked outside of a bar. Police say they later realized Banales' rental car was the same one involved in the hit-and-run.
Wednesday afternoon, a judge ruled if Banales could post bail, he could return to Texas until his June trial.
The judge said, first, Banales would have to turn in his passport and sign a court document saying he would not go anywhere once he got back to Texas. If he failed to honor those terms, Banales would be brought back to Indianapolis to await trial.
The prosecution argued Banales was a flight risk.
Breedlove's mother expressed her anger with the judge's decision as she left the courtroom, at times yelling expletives and the word "no."
Banales' jury trial is tentatively set for June 24.
According to jail records, Banales bonded out of jail just after 4 p.m. on March 15.