A 29-year-old man suspected of running over and seriously injuring a boy while fleeing the scene of an accident in Perris was being held Monday in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Ahmad Louie Qutami of Menifee was arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Friday on suspicion of hit-and-run resulting in injuries, auto theft and driving on a suspended license.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department detectives were expected to submit their case on Qutami to the District Attorney’s Office Monday with a request for criminal charges.
The suspect was identified following a two-week investigation into the hit-and-run, which occurred about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 near the intersection of South C and West Third streets, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Jeremy Bracey.
Bracey said the victim, whose identity was not released, was walking with his family when they began crossing C Street about the time that a southbound motorist clipped a parked car in a 2023 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.
“As the truck began fleeing the collision scene, it then struck the juvenile,” Bracey said. “The truck was last seen in the area of West Fourth Street and South A Street.”
Paramedics reached the location minutes later and found the victim with major life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment and is now in recovery.
His family members were not hurt in the hit-and-run.
Bracey said investigators from the sheriff’s Perris station were ultimately successful in identifying the pickup involved and linked it to Qutami, though no other details were disclosed.
The suspect was tracked to a business on Hospitality Place in Murrieta, where he was taken into custody without incident Friday evening.
Jail records show he has a prior drunken driving conviction. It was unclear whether the auto theft allegation for which he was also booked related to the Dodge pickup or another vehicle.