A man was in custody Wednesday for allegedly fatally striking a bicyclist in Irwindale while evading police in a stolen vehicle.
The crash was reported around 8:31 p.m. Tuesday near Arrow Highway and Rivergrade Road, near the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale Police Department Sgt. Diego Cornejo told City News Service.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified the fatally injured bicyclist as Raul Castaneda, 50, of San Gabriel, who died at the scene.
According to Cornejo, after hitting the victim, the suspect drove away from the scene, abandoned the vehicle and ran away. Witnesses alerted Irwindale police to the suspect’s location and officers arrested him shortly thereafter, Cornejo said.
Cornejo said the suspect was booked into the West Covina Jail on suspicion of murder. Authorities did not immediately identify him.
According to Cornejo, the El Monte Police Department informed Irwindale officers that the suspect had allegedly stolen a car from a Toyota dealership in El Monte. El Monte police were in pursuit of the suspect as he drove from El Monte into Irwindale, but had called off the pursuit before the suspect fatally struck the bicyclist, Cornejo said.