A utility worker was struck and injured by a hit-and-run driver as he worked alongside a Moreno Valley road Friday, but the suspect was apprehended almost immediately, authorities said.
Jose Andres Mateo Rodas, 21, of Moreno Valley was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside Friday on suspicion of hit-and-run resulting in great bodily injury and driving under the influence. Bail information was not immediately available.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, a 52-year-old Eastern Municipal Water District employee, whose identity was not disclosed, was working in the area of Cottonwood Avenue and Graham Street about 3:20 a.m. when Rodas allegedly hit him.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Marcos Acosta alleged that the suspect sped away afterward, and witnesses called 911.
Paramedics and patrol deputies reached the location within a few minutes and found the EMWD employee with non-life-threatening injuries, Acosta said. The man was taken to nearby Riverside University Medical Center for treatment.
Based on a description of the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run, deputies initiated a citywide search, and the car was located a short time later about two blocks to the south, near the main entrance to March Air Reserve Base at Cactus Avenue and Frederick Street, according to Acosta.
He said that Rodas was inside the vehicle, which exhibited “minor damage to the hood consistent with the collision.”
The uninjured suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Background information on him was unavailable.