Prosecutor: Hit-and-run suspect admits role in crash that killed WRAL employee

Prosecutors say Aldair Leon-Olluas confessed to driving the van and fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run that resulted in the death last month of WRAL employee Erin Simanskis.

Leon-Olluas, 27, was arrested at the home of a family member Georgia and extradited to North Carolina where he made a first court appearance on Monday.

He is being held on $1 million bond on nine charges, including felony hit and run causing serious injury or death, driving without a license, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in the car.

Leon-Olluas, who is from Mexico, was in the United States illegally at the time of the crash, having been deported twice before.

Simanskis' husband, Ed Simanskis, was in court Monday to face Leon-Olluas.

"The sentence doesn’t really matter as long as he knows what he’s done, not only to our family but our extended family and the community as well," he said.

Erin Simanskis, who worked as a researcher and assignment editor for WRAL News, got into a fender bender on Jan. 21 as she was headed home from work on Western Boulevard during a snowstorm.

A wreck report shows that Simanskis came to a stop for a red light in the Western Boulevard/Interstate 440 interchange when the driver of a Honda slid into her vehicle. That driver, Danny Person, was unable to stop due to road conditions, the report shows.

Simanskis and the other driver were outside their cars exchanging insurance information, when a van allegedly driven by Leon-Ollas, plowed into both cars and people.

Person, who is recovering from foot and leg injuries, told WRAL News he and Simanskis spoke for about three or four minutes before they were hit. He remembers her as "one of the nicest people I have ever met."

Simanskis' husband said, "She cared about people, and it didn’t matter if you were a stranger or not she would strike up a conversation. She was just inquisitive and cared about people and wanted to know about people."

Ed Simanskis said the arrest of Leon-Olluas was a step towards closure for his family. He and Erin have twins, Emily and Eric.

"It's not going to bring Erin back. If it would that would be great, but I know it won't," Ed Simanskis said.
"So, we're just trying to move on with our lives the best we can."