OCEAN CITY — A local man charged in the fatal hit-and-run collision that claimed the life of a seasonal worker from Slovakia turned himself in last Friday and is now being held without bond pending trial.
Around 3 a.m. on Aug. 30, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported hit-and-run collision involving a bicycle in the area of 2nd Street and Philadelphia Avenue. The bicyclist, later identified as Veronika Badurova, 21, of Slovakia, who was working on a J-1 visa in the resort area, was riding southbound on Philadelphia Avenue when she was struck by an SUV also traveling southbound.
The driver of the SUV, identified as Brooks T. Bratten, 38, of Snow Hill, failed to stop or remain at the scene. Badurova was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in critical condition. Two days later, she succumbed to injuries sustained in the hit-and-run collision.
Last Wednesday, the OCPD charged Bratten with multiple counts including two counts of failure to remain at the scene of a fatal traffic collision, two counts of failure to remain at the scene of a traffic collision causing bodily injury, failing to render aid following a traffic collision and negligent driving and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Last Friday, Bratten turned himself in at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and is being held without bail, according to OCPD officials. Trial is tentatively set for Oct. 31.
