An Oceanside woman described hearing a sound unlike any she had heard before at the same time a cyclist was struck by a car near her home.
Philip White, 28, was killed while riding his bicycle on North River Road at 1:30 a.m. on September 21, 2014. His body was discovered four hours later.
In a North County courtroom Tuesday, Rosalinda Lopez took the stand and described the noise she heard outside her home on the morning White died.
"I've never heard that sound before," Lopez said.
When the prosecutor asked Lopez if the noise was consistent with a vehicle, Lopez replied, "No metal. That's what I was waiting for when I heard the car, but I didn't and instead I heard a pop which I thought was rather unusual, so much so, that I closed my windows."
Almost a year after White's death, investigators arrested Christopher Noah, 24, an active duty Navy medical assistant on Camp Pendleton.
Noah faces felony hit-and-run charges for leaving the scene of the collision in his green Kia Soul.
Oceanside Police Officer Eric Anderson investigated the collision and said surveillance video from the nearby water treatment plant showed a vehicle with one headlight.
Anderson testified the vehicle in the video was a green Kia Soul.
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Noah admits he drove the vehicle that night, but told investigators he didn’t know he had hit anyone.
Investigators say Noah told them he had been drinking and thought he hit a light pole.
At the end of the preliminary hearing, the judge will decide if there's enough evidence for a trial.
Noah is free on $50,000 bail. He faces four years in prison if convicted.
