A motorist was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing a 23-year-old woman in a hit-and-run collision on the Pomona (60) Freeway in Jurupa Valley.
The 2004 Honda CRV driven by Hillary Hicks of Ontario was struck from behind by a 2008 Toyota Sienna about 11:30 p.m. Monday on the westbound Pomona Freeway, just west of Mission Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Toyota driver, 30-year-old Jude Joseph Vargas of San Bernardino, was arrested shortly before noon Tuesday at the Chino Police Department.
According to the CHP, Vargas went into the police station to report that his vehicle had been stolen, but after an investigation he was taken into custody and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.
Hicks’ compact SUV was hit with such force that she lost control of it, CHP Officer Dan Olivas said.
“The Honda veered to the right, traveled off the right-side edge of the roadway, where it overturned down the embankment and collided with a tree,” Olivas said. “The victim was ejected from the vehicle as a result of the collision.”
Hicks was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where she died about 2:50 a.m.
Vargas’ Toyota was found near the crash, abandoned on the side of the road, according to Olivas.
–City News Service