Carlos Mondragon

Name:
Mondragon, Carlos

Date of Booking:
02/27/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
HIT AND RUN; DUTY OF DRIVER TO STOP AT OR RETURN TO SCENE OF ACCIDENT

AGGRESSIVE DRIVING

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On February 27th, 2026, at around 4:50 pm, I was dispatched to the Lowes Home Improvement located at 1851 Epps Bridge Parkway regarding a hit-and-run. The victim reported that he was hit by the driver of a gray Honda Accord GA tag [REDACTED]. The driver of the Accord fled and was last seen on Oconee Connector near Epps Bridge Parkway.

While on the way, I put the Accord in the hotlist from Flock and I received a notification that the Accord was leaving the parking lot of 1791 Oconee Connector heading towards the Inner Loop. The registered owner of the Accord lived off of Hwy 29 on the north side of Athens, so I believed he was heading that way. I was able to catch up to the Accord on the Inner Loop inside of Athens-Clarke County as we approached the Tallassee Road exit. I stopped the Accord where I spoke with the registered owner, Carlos Mondragon-Rosales. He was the sole occupant and driver. I had Mondragon-Rosales get out of the Accord, and we spoke about the crash.

Mondragon-Rosales told me that he was involved in a crash with another vehicle that changed lanes into his lane. He was on Oconee Connector approaching University Parkway when the victim changed lanes into him. After the crash, he did not stop and continued driving down Epps Bridge and continuing to Jim N’ Nicks to pick up a Door Dash order. Mondragon-Rosales did not believe it was a big deal and that the damage was very minor, so he was not worried about it. Mondragon-Rosales believed if it had been important, the victim would have continued following him.

I placed Mondragon-Rosales under arrest for hit-and-run, and I had him sit in the backseat of my patrol car. I had the victim meet with me on the Inner Loop. When he arrived, he told me that he was driving his silver Tesla Cybertruck GA tag [REDACTED] on Oconee Connector when he began to change lanes. The driver of the Accord accelerated forward and their cars hit. After the crash, the driver of the Accord drove around him and then brake checked him. The driver of the Accord flipped off the victim and then drove away. The victim initially followed the Accord, but stopped after talking to the 9-1-1 operator.

The victim provided me video footage from his Cybertruck which showed the collision and Mondragon-Rosales flipping off the victim. I saw the driver of the Accord was in the right lane and the victim was just ahead of him in the left lane. The victim began changing lanes when Mondragon-Rosales accelerated to block the victim from changing lanes. Mondragon-Rosales did not slow or stop and continued driving alongside the victim’s Cybertruck until the right rear of the Cybertruck collided with the left side of the Honda.

Mondragon-Rosales drove around the victim and got in front of him. They were in the keep moving lane turning onto eastbound University Parkway when Mondragon-Rosales stopped in front of the victim. I saw Mondragon-Rosales raise his right hand and flip the victim off before taking off.

I took photographs of the damage to the victim’s Cybertruck and Mondragon-Rosales’ Accord. These photographs have been attached to this report.

I read Mondragon-Rosales the Miranda Advisement and he understood his rights. When I confronted Mondragon-Rosales about him flipping off the victim, he told me that he was being “stupid.” At Mondragon-Rosales’ request, his Accord was turned over to his friend. I transported Mondragon-Rosales to the Oconee County Jail where he was booked in. I issued him citations for hit-and-run and aggressive driving.

[End of Narrative]