Hit-and-Run Driver Who Ran Over, Killed MoVal Boy Sentenced

Hit-and-Run Driver Who Ran Over, Killed MoVal Boy Sentenced

by Contributing Editor

A motorist who ran over and killed a 14-year-old Moreno Valley boy was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison.

Eleazar Arevalo Garcia, 34, pleaded guilty last month to hit-and-run resulting in death and a sentence-enhancing allegation of fleeing the scene of an accident. The plea was made directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge O.G. Magno, without input from the District Attorney’s Office.

Magno imposed a low-term sentence on Garcia, who could have received up to four years behind bars for killing Darion Coleman in February.

Darion was walking in the 22600 block of Cottonwood Avenue, near Ellsworth Street, about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 18 when he was struck. It was unclear whether he was walking on the shoulder of the street or crossing it.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian De Marco said the teenager suffered major head trauma, and Garcia sped away, leaving the boy lying in the street.

The victim was taken to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, where he lingered on life support for two days before dying from his injuries.

According to De Marco, Garcia was identified as the perpetrator after detectives determined that his 2000 Cadillac Escalade was the vehicle that hit Darion.

De Marco said pieces of the sport utility vehicle were left behind in the roadway, and that evidence, as well as other clues, culminated in detectives arresting the defendant within hours of the hit-and-run.

A search warrant was served at a property in the 13400 block of Moreno Way, where the Cadillac was found to have front end damage connected to the fatality. The vehicle was seized, according to De Marco.

Garcia had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com