Last Updated on September 28, 2017 by CCAR Staff
Good Samaritans who witnessed a hit-and-run crash that left a woman in critical condition and closed Corona streets for more than four hours Wednesday afternoon helped the police arrest the driver, Corona police said.
“I never witnessed anything like that,” said Michael Skaggs, 45, who says the woman who was hit was killed — and then revived by paramedics.
The incident was reported just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, when witnesses saw a Chevrolet van strike a woman who was crossing Sixth Street near Main Street, according to a Corona police release.
The van continued west on Sixth.
“We were at the stop light and we saw this van speed through the intersection and hit her,” said Skaggs, who was driving his vehicle with his wife Gretchen, a Los Angeles police officer. “My wife’s a police officer and she said, ‘Get him! He’s running!’
“We went after him and we were able to catch up with him … box him in,” he said. “He got out (of the van) and we threw him to the ground. It was crazy.”
The driver, Humberto Jara, 61, of Corona, was detained by good Samaritans about five blocks away at Fourth and Merrill streets until police arrived.
Jara was booked into the Corona jail, but was released pending further investigation, senior detective Andy Bryan said via email.
“Our traffic investigators perform very thorough information gathering in order to have all the facts of a collision before making a final determination,” Bryan said. “This investigation is open and ongoing.”
It is unknown whether alcohol or other drugs were involved in the crash, the release said.
The intersection of Sixth and Main was closed to traffic while police investigated, the release said.
Corona police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call 951-279-3639 or contact Officer Tobias Kouroubacalis at Tobias.Kouroubacalis@CoronaCA. gov.
