Police are searching for a 28-year-old Hispanic man who hit and
killed a 43-year-old Gilroyan on Hecker Pass Highway then fled.
Police are searching for a 28-year-old Hispanic man who hit and killed a 43-year-old Gilroyan on Hecker Pass Highway then fled.
About 7 p.m. Saturday, the man, driving eastbound on Hecker Pass Highway in a 1993 Acura Integra with five other men, hit Martin Corona as he crossed the highway near Whitehurst Road, police said. The vehicle struck Corona on the right leg, throwing him onto the windshield, police said. The blow caused major head trauma and CalFire officials declared the victim dead at the scene by 7:20 p.m., police said. His family was with him at the time, police said.
The impact also shattered the windshield, causing facial lacerations to the driver and front passenger.
After being alerted about the accident by several witnesses in the area, police found the Acura abandoned about half a mile east of the accident scene, police said. Gilroy police responded with a K-9 unit but lost the suspects’ trail south of the scene, police said.
At 10:49 p.m., police received a call from Gilroy Gardens security reporting several men talking about being in an accident, police said. The park was closed, but security officers were in the area – about two miles east of the accident scene – and heard the men, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jaime Rios.
Police located the Acura’s five passengers, who identified the driver as a resident of the Rodriguez labor camp, police said. Police went to the camp, but could not locate the suspect. Police would not release the name given to them by his passengers until they can confirm it through fingerprinting, Rios said. Police may also run a blood analysis from the blood stains in the front seat, he said. The suspect likely has lacerations on his face.
“It’s not that we don’t believe (the passengers) were giving the right name, we just need to confirm it,” Rios said.
Although there was “a bit of a language barrier,” the men riding in the Acura were cooperative, Rios said. One passenger was taken to the hospital with cuts on his face and hands. The others were released without being charged.
The Acura is currently at the Gilroy Police Department undergoing fingerprint analysis, Rios said.
The men were heading to the Rodriguez labor camp in southeast Gilroy from Watsonville, police said. Rios said he did not know if alcohol was involved.
The victim had parked his car on the side of Hecker Pass Highway and was walking across the street away from his car, police said.
“We’re not sure what he was doing out there,” Rios said.
A search of the White Pages showed a Martin Corona living on Sherwood Drive near Las Animas Park. However, a call to the residence did not confirm if it was the same man as the victim.
View Fatal hit and run accident in a larger map
