A Toyota driver has been arrested, accused of killing a man out directing traffic in Valley Center and fleeing the scene.
The incident occurred early on Wednesday when someone called the CHP's Oceanside-area office to report a hit-and-run collision in the 14500 block of Cool Valley Road.
The victim, a 37-year-old Fallbrook resident whose name has not yet been released was a construction worker operating as a flagman for his crew a few minutes before 7 a.m. when a tan Corolla struck him and drove off.
The flagman was brought to a hospital by paramedics, but succumbed to his injuries, according to the CHP.
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Investigators from the California Highway Patrol eventually identified the vehicle and its driver, Ruperto Jesus Lopez, 77, and, at about 4:30 the following afternoon, took him into custody.
Lopez faces multiple charges, including felony hit-and-run causing death or injury and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, according to a news release issued Thursday by the CHP, who said that Valley Center residents were "instrumental" in the investigation.
A court hearing is scheduled for Lopez, who is being held on a half-million dollar bond, in the Vista courthouse on Monday.
