The family of a man killed in a hit and run accident involving a San Diego Gas & Electric employee driving a company utility truck plans to sue SDG&E over the accident, the victim's stepson confirmed in an exclusive interview with NBC 7.
Robert Fisher, 54, was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Jan. 6 involving an SDG&E truck.
According to the El Cajon Police Department, Fisher was crossing the 200-block of Jamacha Road south of East Main Street at around 10 p.m. that night when the Ford 550 truck fatally hit him. He was left lying in the middle of the street and moments later, a second, separate vehicle approached the street and accidentally ran over him again. That second driver stayed at the scene and called police.
After a few days of searching for the hit and run driver, witnesses and evidence led investigators to an El Cajon address where the suspect was found and the SDG&E utility truck was seized.
Police say the SDG&E employee was not on the job when he hit Fisher.The victim was a transient who frequented the El Cajon area.
On Friday night, nearly two weeks after the deadly accident, Fisher's stepson, Jared Bye, spoke with NBC 7 about his stepfather's sudden death.
While dealing with his mother’s death, Bye says he had been looking for his stepfather on the streets on El Cajon for months. He learned about the accident from his father’s friends.
Bye wonders how the hit and run driver couldn't left his stepfather on the street, and why.
“Why didn't they come back, you know?” Bye said. “They just left him for dead. I just want to see justice on this whole thing.”
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Attorney Dan Gilleon says the family is looking to sue SDG&E.
“If I were to hit anybody and flee the scene and the police knew that, I would be arrested. You would be arrested,” Gilleon said. “I just wonder myself why is it SDG&E's employee is getting treated differently from what it seems most of us would be treated.”
Both the El Cajon Police Department and SDG&E are conducting investigations.
The company says it can't provide more information about the driver because of personnel privacy rules. A spokesperson released this statement regarding the incident:
"SDG&E continues to cooperate fully with authorities. This is a tragic accident. The employee is no longer with our company."
NBC 7 has reached out to the El Cajon Police Department. So far, no word on an arrest or charges in this hit and run.
