Last Updated on June 14, 2022 by CCAR Staff
A man who ran over and killed a 15-year-old bicyclist on a Riverside street, and then fled, was sentenced Monday, June 13, to six years in state prison.
Rosendo Morales Caldera, 37, of Riverside, had pleaded guilty June 2 to hit-and-run resulting in death, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of fleeing the scene of a crime, under an agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge of operating a motor vehicle without a license.
In a hearing at the Riverside County Hall of Justice in Riverside, Superior Court Judge Charles Koosed imposed the sentence agreed to by the prosecution and defense.
Caldera fatally struck Javier Gonzalez of Colton on the night of March 1. Javier was riding in the 2000 block of Main Street, near Poplar Street when Caldera approached from the opposite direction in a black Chevrolet pickup, said Officer Ryan Railsback, a Police Department spokesman. Railsback said that Javier was riding his bike near the center median northbound on Main — facing traffic. Caldera’s southbound pickup plowed into the youth, and Caldera did not stop, Railsback said.
“This collision was captured on video from several businesses in this area, which helped detectives develop information that led to them identifying the driver,” Railsback said.
Caldera was arrested at his home on March 22, Railsback said.
The Gonzalez family released a statement immediately afterward, saying, “We are still devastated by the loss of our sweet Javier, and we miss him every day. But we are thankful the man who killed him is now in jail, and we can slowly begin the healing process.”
