Son of Virginia Madsen and Antonio Sabato Jr. Charged After Fatal Anchorage Hit-and-Run

The 32-year-old son of actors Virginia Madsen and Antonio Sabato Jr. is in jail in Anchorage, Alaska, charged with leaving the scene of a crash that killed a pedestrian early Monday, Nov. 9.

Jack Antonio Sabato was arrested Monday night after police linked him to a white Chevrolet Tahoe seen striking Carl Simmonds, 42, near Airport Heights Drive and DeBarr Road, according to the Anchorage Police Department and charging documents described by the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media.

Simmonds had been at Alaska Regional Hospital, across the street, and a relative had posted a missing-person alert on Facebook saying he was last seen leaving there around 5 a.m., the Daily News reported. Witnesses reported a body on the sidewalk near the Blood Bank of Alaska just before 6 a.m., and police logged the call at about 5:48 a.m. Officers found broken vehicle parts at the scene, including one marked “GM.” Simmonds was pronounced dead there.

Surveillance footage from the blood bank showed the Tahoe hit Simmonds at about 5:35 a.m. and drive away without braking before or after the impact, according to the charges. Dispatchers searching vehicle records found a matching SUV registered to Sabato at a Mountain View address. A police sergeant found it at the Amazon delivery station in South Anchorage where Sabato works, with fresh damage consistent with striking a person. Officials at the warehouse told police Sabato was out on a delivery route, Alaska Public Media reported. Police obtained a warrant to seize the vehicle.

Shortly after officers left the warehouse, Sabato called police. He told them he had been driving home from a shift as a DoorDash driver when “something” suddenly appeared in the road and his headlight went out on impact, Assistant District Attorney Malone Van Wieren wrote in a summary filed with the charges. Sabato said he did not know he had hit a person and “hoped for the best.” He said he did not stop because “he was scared because he did not have insurance.” Asked why he ran a red light after the crash, he said he felt unsafe driving without headlights, according to Alaska Public Media.

He told officers he had planned to report hitting something after work. He called police instead after his girlfriend told him the Tahoe had been seized, saying he “knew the worst,” the summary says.

Accounts of the charges differ slightly. Alaska Public Media and ABC News, citing court documents, reported one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident without rendering assistance and one misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. The Daily News described two felony counts associated with leaving a fatal accident without providing assistance. He has not been charged with any homicide offense.

At his arraignment Tuesday at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, Sabato asked for a public defender. District Court Judge J. Patrick Hanley granted the request on a preliminary basis pending a financial review. Hanley set bail at $5,000 cash performance and $5,000 unsecured appearance. Prosecutors had asked for $20,000 bonds. Simmonds’ parents listened to the hearing by phone and did not speak. Sabato remained jailed as of Tuesday afternoon and was scheduled to return to court Thursday, according to ABC News.

Simmonds is the ninth pedestrian killed by a vehicle in Anchorage this year, Alaska Public Media reported.

Sabato is the only child of Madsen, an Oscar nominee for “Sideways,” and Sabato Jr., known for “General Hospital” and “Melrose Place,” who were once a couple. The couple appeared with him on red carpets when he was a boy. In an Instagram statement Wednesday, Sabato Jr. said his family was dealing with “an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.” “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family,” he wrote. He extended “heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life.” Representatives for Madsen did not respond to requests for comment from ABC News or the Daily News.

Mark Groubert walked viewers through the charging details on Wednesday’s show, from the surveillance footage to the damaged Tahoe at the warehouse and the call to police about something that “appeared” in the road. He dwelt on the seven or so hours between the crash and the discovery of the vehicle, and on the explanation about insurance.

Groubert described the case as vehicular manslaughter. Sabato has not been charged with manslaughter. The only charges filed relate to leaving the scene and failing to render aid. Groubert also questioned Sabato’s account of the night. None of the charging documents described in news reports alleges that Sabato was impaired.

Groubert said he knows Madsen and predicted the case would not end well for her son.