Driver, 77, Held on $500K Bail in Fatal Valley Center Hit-Run

A 77-year-old man was behind bars Friday for allegedly fleeing after the car he was driving struck a construction worker on a rural road near Harrah’s Resort Southern California.

Ruperto Jesus Lopez was behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla that hit the laborer, a Fallbrook resident, 37, as the victim was directing traffic at a work site in the 14500 block of Cool Valley Road in Valley Center shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Lopez was arrested Thursday and booked into county jail in Vista on suspicion of hit-and-run causing death and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was being held on $500,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Following the impact, Lopez continued driving and left the area, CHP public-affairs Officer Hunter Gerber alleged.

Paramedics took the victim to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was withheld pending family notification.

The CHP did not disclose what led investigators to identify Lopez as the alleged hit-and-run driver in the case.

– City News Service