Sonora man arrested in hit-and-run that injures child, pregnant mom
Apparently angry over being shouted at to slow down, a speeding driver backed up and struck a parked vehicle, injuring a 10-year-old girl and her pregnant mother, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department reported Monday. Sonora resident David Joseph Serpa Jr., 40, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and hit-and-run.
The incident occurred Friday night as numerous people were leaving a family gathering at a residence on Crestview Drive. About 10:15 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the 21000 block of Crestview to help the California Highway Patrol with a traffic collision. Because the crash might have been intentional, the sheriff’s office assumed the investigation.
Witnesses said the driver of a Mitsubishi Eclipse went by several pedestrians at high speed. A man walking with his family and carrying his 2-year-old son yelled, “Slow down.”
The driver stopped, put the vehicle in reverse and accelerated rapidly in the direction of the pedestrians, witnesses told deputies. The rear of the Eclipse struck the front of a parked vehicle, and the impact of the crash pushed the parked vehicle into a 30-year-old woman – about nine months pregnant – and her daughter. The driver then fled in his car, according to a news release from Sgt. Scott Johnson, a sheriff’s spokesman.
The mother and daughter were taken by ambulance to Sonora Regional Hospital. The child suffered abrasions and was released. Her mother was transferred to an out-of-county trauma center for treatment of injuries that were deemed serious but not life-threatening, Johnson said.
Deputies collected evidence but could not find the vehicle or driver. On Saturday, a tip led deputies to a residence in the 21000 block of American River Drive, where the driver’s vehicle was discovered, covered by a tarp. Deputies got a search warrant for the vehicle and impounded it.
On Sunday, Serpa, the registered owner of the suspect vehicle, went to the sheriff’s office. After he spoke with deputies, he was arrested. Serpa later was released on $40,000 bail.
This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Sonora man arrested in hit-and-run that injures child, pregnant mom."