UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A man who authorities believe struck and killed an elderly man in a wheelchair with his vehicle early Thursday morning has been arrested for felony hit and run.
Manuel Herrera, 30, was arrested in Nice Thursday afternoon, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wind.
Herrera's arrest followed an investigation that began when the crash victim's body was found around 9 a.m. Thursday along Highway 20 near Reclamation Road, not far from the Bloody Island historical marker, Wind said.
“Caltrans was out there this morning to do some road maintenance and Caltrans workers found him in the bushes,” he said.
The debris from the man's destroyed wheelchair was found adjacent to the shoulder. Wind said the man's body wasn't visible from the roadway, but had been thrown into the brush by the impact.
He said investigators are narrowing down the time frame for the crash, which they believe happened in the dark early morning hours Thursday.
An online CHP report from around 2:30 a.m. Thursday described a subject in a wheelchair who was traveling westbound from Robinson Rancheria. The person was said to be close to the highway's white fog line and couldn't be seen until close up.
Wind said they believe the crash victim was “well on the shoulder” of the westbound highway lane when he was hit.
“I don't know at this point in time what caused the suspect to drive onto the shoulder,” Wind said, adding that Herrera is alleged to have not stopped or rendered any kind of aid.
Wind said the investigation had been handled quietly during the day.
The CHP was reported to have taken aerial photos of the crash location, and Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that agency had investigators on scene.
Late in the morning, the CHP had put out a call for the community to be on the lookout for Herrera's vehicle, which they originally described as a 1993 to 1995 Honda Civic that had been repainted silver over a blue paint job and had damage to its right front section.
Investigators found the vehicle, which turned out to be a 1992 Honda Accord, in the Nice area and subsequently went to a residence, spoke with Herrera and arrested him, Wind said.
The CHP reported that Herrera was located at 3364 E. Highway 20, the location of the Cloverleaf Apartments in Nice. Sheriff's deputies and CHP deputies were on scene at the apartment complex late in the day Thursday.
Wind said the coroner has not yet been able to do a positive identification of the victim.
The roadway near where the collision occurred was finally cleared of law enforcement units shortly before 7:30 p.m., the CHP reported.
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