Fernando Velasquez Acosta, Suspected of Hitting, Killing Woman in Custody
MENIFEE (CNS) – A motorist suspected of running over and killing a 30- year-old woman in Menifee, then fleeing the scene, was slated to be booked into a Riverside County correctional facility Monday or Tuesday on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and other allegations.
Fernando Velasquez Acosta, 41, of Menifee, allegedly killed Carol Omo Aba of Perris Thursday night on Placentia Avenue, at the entrance ramp to southbound Interstate 215.
Acosta was later tracked down with assistance from witnesses and arrested without incident on suspicion of the manslaughter allegation, as well as hit-and-run resulting in death, driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.
California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Navarro told City News Service that Acosta was experiencing medical distress from an undisclosed pre- existing disorder at the time he was taken into custody, prompting officers to transport him to a regional trauma center for evaluation.
Navarro said doctors were expected to clear the suspect for booking Monday or Tuesday. He will likely be taken to the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
About 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Aba was crossing the on-ramp for southbound I-215 at Placentia when Acosta allegedly turned onto the freeway from the street in his Ford F-150 pickup and plowed into the victim at an undetermined speed, according to Navarro.
“The driver fled the scene southbound on the freeway without rendering any aid to the pedestrian,” the CHP spokesman said.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location minutes later and attempted life-saving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Several motorists witnessed the hit-and-run and called 911, providing details to the CHP and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which immediately routed its nearby STAR-9 patrol helicopter to the area.
The chopper crew soon spotted the suspect’s pickup in the 27600 block of Blue Diamond Lane, where Acosta was loitering next to it underneath a carport, according to the CHP.
Menifee Police Department and CHP officers converged on the location roughly 45 minutes after the alleged hit-and-run, taking the suspect into custody without incident.
Background information on Acosta was unavailable.
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