Evidence gathered by police in the investigation of a deadly hit-and-run collision last month on Louisville Road suggests the suspected driver had been drinking in the hours leading up to the incident, according to courtroom testimony given Wednesday.

Michael Mestas, 41, of Rockfield, is in custody in relation to the death of Terry Zweig, 46, whose body was found on the morning of Jan. 18 just off Louisville Road.

An autopsy found that Zweig had multiple injuries consistent with a vehicle collision.

Through evidence gathered at the crash site as well as video surveillance footage, the Bowling Green Police Department identified a Dodge pickup truck believed to have struck Zweig and leave the scene.

Images of the truck and the suspected driver were posted Jan. 30 on BGPD’s Facebook page, leading to several tips identifying the man as Mestas, which resulted in his arrest that same night on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid or assistance (with death or serious physical injury).

At the end of a preliminary hearing Wednesday for Mestas, Warren District Court Judge Kim Geoghegan added a count of tampering with physical evidence, based on testimony from BGPD Detective Matthew Poore that Mestas deleted some text messages from his phone near the time of the incident and ordered a tire to replace one that had been damaged on his truck.

Poore said that while police have not found surveillance footage video depicting the collision, detectives have gathered footage of Zweig on a bicycle on Louisville Road driving toward Bowling Green and a pickup truck traveling on Louisville Road toward the city on either side of the intersection with Bristow Road, the area where the collision is believed to have occurred.

Poore testified that after the truck passed Bristow Road, surveillance footage showed damage to the passenger side headlight and mirror that was not evident before the truck reached the Bristow Road intersection.

Police collected footage of the truck stopped outside UV Liquors outside Louisville Road with a man believed to be Mestas walking around outside the vehicle.

Poore said that, within an hour of BGPD posting the images outside UV Liqours, tips started coming in.

“Three or four tips were from individuals that called into dispatch and some more tips came in on our Crimestoppers line,” Poore said.

Mestas was contacted by BGPD and agreed to come to police headquarters to speak with detectives.

Poore testified that Mestas told police that the damage to his headlight occurred three weeks prior in Summer Shade, his passenger side mirror was damaged by a falling tree outside his home and his tire was damaged about two weeks earlier while on Louisville Road.

Mestas acknowledged the truck in the post on BGPD’s Facebook page was his vehicle, but he invoked his right to an attorney when asked to elaborate on the damages his truck sustained, Poore said.

Police seized Mestas’ cell phone and were able to talk with two people who said they were in contact with him the night of the incident.

One man told police that Mestas was in Glasgow with him the night of Jan. 17, and that they split a pitcher of margaritas at a restaurant there before going to a bar in Glasgow, where the man estimated that Mestas had four or five beers and three or four shots, Poore said.

Police reviewing Mestas’ phone also contacted an ex-girlfriend who was on a call with him the night of Jan. 17.

“(The ex-girlfriend) said (Mestas) did sound intoxicated and had slurred speech,” Poore said.

Mestas remains in Warren County Regional Jail under a $10,000 cash bond.