Hoodline reports that on Saturday, August 26, a 24-year-old man was walking his dog in Santa Rosa when he and his pet were struck by a white SUV that fled the scene.
Authorities say that the man was left lying motionless in the middle of the street. Paramedics and other emergency personnel responded to the scene and rushed him to an area hospital with major injuries.
The young man’s dog, injured and traumatized by the event, was spotted wandering around the residential neighborhood. A compassionate neighbor eventually coaxed and brought the dog to safety via the Santa Rosa Police Department.
Investigators with the Santa Rosa Police Department were able to obtain security footage from homes in the neighborhood to identify and track down the hit-and-run driver.
The search led them to 65-year-old Eriberto Morales later that evening. Officers detected a strong scent of alcohol on Morales’ person and arrested him on suspicion of felony DUI and felony hit-and-run.
After Morales was taken into custody, he was booked into the Santa Rosa Jail.
Court documents indicate that Morales had previously been convicted of DUI.
Oddly, before his arrest, Morales himself dialed 911 and told dispatchers, “I may have hit someone.”
The unidentified pedestrian remains in critical condition. No further information about the victim’s dog was available at the time of the report.
