Last Updated on October 15, 2020 by CCAR Staff
Police arrested a 41-year-old man Wednesday evening suspected in a hit-and-run earlier this week in which a 50-year-old man was killed, authorities said.
Officers received a tip leading officers to the suspect’s home in the 1100 block of South Riverside Avenue on Wednesday evening, Rialto police said Thursday in a news release. Police said officers found a vehicle that matched the description of the truck involved in the hit-and-run.
Officers arrested Maximo Gomez-Blake, 41, of Rialto on suspicion of fatal hit-and-run.
Earlier this week, police found the victim lying unresponsive in the area of Riverside Avenue, south of Merrill Avenue, police said. Paramedics declared the man dead at the scene on Monday night, at about 10:22 p.m. Described as a transient, the man’s identity was withheld while coroner officials notify his next of kin.
Since the incident, investigators analyzed vehicle debris, witness statements and a photograph, leading authorities to suspect a vehicle had struck the man as he crossed the street.
Police said the man crossed west from the east sidewalk of Riverside Avenue toward the center median. As he continued walking from the median toward the other end of the road, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck hit the man as it traveled south on Riverside Avenue, police said.
Investigators said they believe the driver stopped alongside the victim before continuing to drive along Riverside, then west on Randall Avenue.
Before Wednesday’s arrest, authorities continued their search for the suspect and the suspect’s vehicle, which police described as a silver or gray, 2001 to 2004 Toyota Tacoma four-door pickup truck with a camper shell, possible damage on the driver’s side headlight, grill and hood, and missing its driver’s side parking light.
