Teen pedestrian struck in another Sierra foothills hit-and-run
A 40-year-old Shingle Springs man was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, the police said on Wednesday morning.
A 16-year-old boy is said to be in “grave” condition after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing a Sutter Creek road — an accident that echoes the crash that killed a teenage girl in another Sierra foothills town.
In Tuesday night’s crash, the boy was struck around 8:35 p.m. as he and another person were crossing the road, the police said. He was taken to a trauma center in Sacramento.
The driver fled the scene. A 40-year-old Shingle Springs man was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, the police said on Wednesday morning.
Three months ago in Camino, about 30 miles to the north, 14-year-old Julianna Abballo was fatally struck as she walked with a friend after school. That driver also fled.
Four hours later, Anthony Smith, 23, of Pollock Pines, turned himself in. At that point, his blood alcohol level was 0.14%, and it was found that he had also been arrested on suspicion of DUI four days earlier.
Last week, he pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, with an enhancement for fleeing the scene; felony hit-and-run resulting in death; and a third count related to the earlier DUI with an enhancement for driving with a blood alcohol level higher than 0.15%. At his sentencing next month, he faces up to 16½ years in state prison.
A third crash involving a teen pedestrian killed 18-year-old high school student Anthony Williams in Rocklin in March. In that incident, the driver stopped. Police said he was not at fault and would not release his name. After weeks of rumors, Placer County Chief Executive Officer Todd Leopold last week confirmed he was behind the wheel.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Leopold has several driving violations on his record, including an incident in which he spent a night in a Colorado jail after an arrest on suspicion of speeding while impaired by alcohol. In a plea deal, he admitted to speeding, and the alcohol charge was dropped.
In 2018, shortly after taking the Placer County post, Leopold was ticketed for driving his Camaro 89 mph on Interstate 80. He did not contest the ticket and paid the fine.