Last Updated on September 7, 2020 by CCAR Staff
A 31-year-old Riverside man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally hitting a woman and her dog with his car in Costa Mesa and then fleeing, authorities say.
The man, Ali Zohair Fakhreddine, was also arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, the California Highway Patrol said.
A Newport Beach woman walking her dog crossed the street, at Irvine Avenue and Mesa Drive, around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, when the driver of a silver Hyundai sedan ran a red light and hit her, the CHP said in a statement by agency spokesman Florentino Olivera. The driver then continued south on Irvine Avenue.
The woman and her dog, who were in the crosswalk, died at the crash site, Olivera said. The woman’s name is being withheld until her next of kin is notified.
About three hours after the crash, Riverside Police Department officials contacted CHP to let the agency know that they had detained Fakhreddine and his vehicle had fresh damage, Olivera wrote.
CHP then went and arrested Fakhreddine.
