Manuel Herrera, 30, of Nice, was arrested in the case Thursday and charged with felony hit and run resulting in death and misdemeanor driving on a suspended license, according to jail records, which indicated Herrera posted $10,000 bail and was released.
The name of the 73-year-old man who Herrera is alleged to have hit Thursday morning has not yet been released pending notification of family, the CHP said Friday.
A report from CHP Officer Nick Powell explained that the crash victim, who was in a wheelchair, had left Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino shortly before 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The man was traveling northbound along Highway 20's westbound shoulder.
At approximately 3:05 a.m., Herrera left his residence in Nice driving a 1992 Honda Civic, Powell's report noted.
Herrera was reportedly traveling westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed because he was running late to work, Powell reported.
At 3:10 a.m. the elderly man had reached the intersection of Highway 20 and Upper Lake-Lucerne Road (east), with Powell reporting that Herrera was approaching the location at between 70 and 80 miles per hour.
For reasons which Powell said are still under investigation, Herrera allowed his vehicle to drift onto the highway's north shoulder, and the vehicle's right front section hit the man in the wheelchair.
The impact's force sent the man in the wheelchair airborne, with him coming to rest on his stomach in some grass just north of the highway's paved shoulder, parallel to the roadway. Powell said debris from the collision was strewn along the shoulder leading up to the location of the man's body.
Later in the morning Thursday a Caltrans crew observed the debris and during cleanup operations located the man's body, Powell said.
He said evidence at the scene led investigators to release information about the type of vehicle involved to the media.
Powell said that, based on an anonymous tip, law enforcement located Herrera later Thursday.
Alcohol is not suspected as a cause for the collision, Powell said.
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