A rare, fatal hit-and-run Sunday night left a Hollister family
devastated and wondering how someone could leave the scene of the
accident.
Police are searching for the people responsible.
A rare, fatal hit-and-run Sunday night left a Hollister family devastated and wondering how someone could leave the scene of the accident.
Police are searching for the people responsible.
Hollister resident Ray Villegas, 31, was walking in the area of 1360 McCloskey Road around 9 p.m. when a silver pick-up truck, possibly a full-sized Chevrolet or GMC, struck the man from behind and killed him, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Villegas lived with his family off Lone Tree Road and liked to take long walks into town via McCloskey Road, said his mother, Rebecca Villegas.
“If he got in the way, that’s one thing, but to hit somebody and actually kill them and just take off …” she said. “I couldn’t even do that to an animal. How could you do that to a human being? I want to know who did this to my son. He had a family who loved him, no matter what.”
Villegas was single with no children and is survived by his mother, father, two brothers and one sister, his mother said.
He had been battling a drug habit and some mental problems where he heard voices, but his mother believed he was getting better, although he refused to see a doctor, she said.
An accident of this nature is an uncommon occurrence in this area, said CHP Officer Terry Mayes.
“It’s highly unusual for Hollister,” Mayes said. “It’s unusual even if the person had stayed at the scene – the problem is that they left.”
A small white sedan also was spotted at the site and the CHP believes it could have been involved, Mayes said.
Both vehicles were witnessed fleeing the scene, turning south onto San Felipe Road by several people either living in the area or passing by at the time of the accident. The CHP believes both vehicles are somewhere in the Hollister area.
There is no indication as to the pick-up’s speed when it hit Villegas, but he suffered severe head trauma, lacerations and blunt force trauma to his entire body, Mayes said.
CHP officers and San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies arrived minutes after the accident occurred and Villegas was already deceased, said Lt. Pat Turturici.
“When we got there he was lying in the roadway on his back,” Turturici said. “I don’t know if he was killed instantly or not.”
The pick-up truck sustained moderate damage to its right side, with the headlights and possibly the front bumper or fender also impacted.
“They’re going to have to get the damage repaired somewhere,” Mayes said. “It only takes one person to realize, ‘my neighbor’s got a dented corner on his truck.'”
Maximum punishment for a fatal hit-and-run is up to four years in state prison and up to a $10,000 fine, Mayes said. Anyone who has knowledge of the crime and helps conceal it could also be prosecuted, she said.
“They can be tried for the same crime because they attempted to cover it up,” she said. “We don’t know if the white car is involved or not, but if anyone does see one and has suspicions, please call us.”
Because Villegas was walking in the middle of the road, if the suspect hadn’t fled the scene the possibility of criminal prosecution could have been averted, Mayes said.
“If they had stayed at the scene, we wouldn’t have the issues because there wouldn’t have been a hit-and-run. Accidents do happen,” she said. “Once you leave the scene, now you’re in trouble.”
The last pedestrian hit-and-run in San Benito County occurred around 1991 or 1992 on U.S. 101, Mayes said.
A man walking along the side of the road was hit by a white van, but similar to this incident, witnesses didn’t get a license plate or description of the driver, she said.
The suspect was never found.
Anyone with information pertaining to the incident or concerning either vehicle is asked to contact the Hollister/Gilroy California Highway Patrol at (408) 848-2324 or 1-866-502-5058.
