Michael Mestas, 43, of Rockfield stood before a Warren Circuit Court judge Thursday and admitted he was behind the wheel of the Dodge pickup truck that struck and killed Terry Zweig, 46, of Bowling Green, then drove away. Mestas pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious physical injury, closing out a case that began with a hit-and-run on Louisville Road and a body found the next morning.
Mestas acknowledged driving the Dodge pickup on Jan. 17, 2025, when it struck Zweig while he was traveling on Louisville Road, according to Bowling Green Daily News. Zweig was found dead the following day, and an autopsy documented injuries consistent with a vehicle collision, the outlet reported, citing prior court testimony. A plea agreement reached Thursday reduced the original vehicular homicide charge to reckless homicide and dismissed separate tampering and insurance-related offenses that had also been filed against him.
From Grand Jury Indictment to Plea Deal
Mestas had been charged by a grand jury with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious physical injury, tampering with physical evidence, and failure of an owner to maintain required insurance. Those charges carried the possibility of up to 30 years in prison.
Zweig's death was investigated by the Bowling Green Police Department, which gathered video surveillance footage from the area along with debris from the crash site to establish that a Dodge pickup truck was involved. Separate reporting from WNKY placed the collision sometime between 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025, and 7 a.m. the following morning. Investigators later released photographs of the suspected driver and the red Dodge truck on social media, asking the public for help identifying them, WNKY reported.
Drinks in Glasgow Before the Crash
A man told police Mestas had been with him in Glasgow on the night of the crash, and that the two split a pitcher of margaritas before going to a bar, the station's report notes. BGPD Detective Matthew Poore testified at a 2025 preliminary hearing that the man estimated Mestas had consumed four or five beers and three or four shots at the bar that night, according to the same account from Bowling Green Daily News. Detectives also seized Mestas's cell phone and spoke with two people who said they had been in contact with him the night of the crash.
Statewide, alcohol-involved crashes remain a persistent factor in Kentucky traffic deaths; a 2024 state report counted 152 deaths attributed to drivers under the influence of alcohol on Kentucky roadways, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Suppression Fight Ended by a Guilty Plea
Mestas's attorney, Jason Hays, had filed a motion seeking to suppress evidence gathered from his client's phone, and the case had been set for a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday, per the report. But a hearing on that suppression motion, scheduled for last Wednesday, was canceled, and Mestas pleaded guilty the next day instead, closing off that avenue of challenge before it could be argued in court.
Under Kentucky law, a person is guilty of reckless homicide when, with recklessness, he causes a death, according to KRS 507.050. The guilty plea brings to a close a case that started with a hit-and-run and a public appeal for tips, and ends with Mestas accepting responsibility for Zweig's death nearly two years after the crash.
