UPDATE: Wanted parolee who fled from fatal hit and run & elderly victim ID’d

HEMET — As additional details emerge about Sunday night’s fatal hit and run involving an elderly victim using a mobility scooter, shock over the callousness of the alleged suspect and grief for the victim and his family continue to reverberate throughout the San Jacinto valley and surrounding communities.

According to officials, the alleged driver was a wanted parolee and believed to have been under the influence of alcohol when he smashed into the victim, as the man was trying to drive his motorized scooter across the road. Witnesses later reported that when the accident occurred the alleged suspect was driving around 100 mph and the victim was not in or near a marked cross walk.

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Officials have since released the names of both the victim and suspect, identifying the alleged driver as 26-year-old, Eugene McArthur Pamilton Jr. and the victim as 64-year-old, Ray Billings Jr. Both men were listed as Hemet residents.

After his arrest, Pamilton was booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of hit and run resulting in death, DUI and DUI resulting in great bodily injury, gross vehicular manslaughter, violation of parole. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at Murrieta’s Southwest Justice Center, July 25.

Hemet PD’s investigation is ongoing and officials have requested anyone with information regarding this incident or who witnessed the fatal collision contact officers at (951) 765-2400.

 

ORIGINAL STORY: Elderly victim in mobility scooter cut in half by hit and run driver

HEMET — An elderly man riding a mobility scooter died after he was run down by a hit and run driver on Florida Ave. in Hemet last night. According to witnesses and other sources, the alleged suspect was traveling around 100 mph when he hit the victim. After being struck, the victim, who was not using or near a marked cross walk when he was hit, was dragged several hundred feet before his body was cut in half.

City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments, along with other emergency personnel, responded to the deadly collision about 9:11 p.m., after callers reported a man in a mobility scooter had been hit by a speeding car.

911 callers told emergency dispatchers the victim had been critically injured. Callers also reported that the vehicle that hit the man, described as a blue Hyundai, never stopped after hitting the elderly victim.

The suspect’s car was last seen fleeing behind Hemet Valley Mall and witnesses later described the driver as a Black male in his 20’s, wearing a white tank top and blue “doo rag.”

Officers arrived in the area less than one minute after the call was dispatched and found the victim surrounded by witnesses and good Samaritans – including some who had pulled over and others who had run to the man’s aid after seeing what one witness later described as “a horrifying, sickening” collision.

Despite life-saving efforts the victim succumbed to his injuries and officials pronounced the man deceased at the scene at 10:33 p.m., nearly 30 minutes after the accident was reported.

Authorities quickly used separate yellow tarps to cover the two halves of the victim’s body – which came to rest 10 feet apart in the number two lane of Florida Ave., about 30 yards past Hamilton Ave.

The victim’s name and age have not been released, pending identification and notification of the man’s family.

As officials were still arriving at the scene, officers learned mall security officers, witnesses, and others, were searching for the suspect’s Hyundai. As more officers converged on the scene, they fanned out throughout the area searching for the driver.

Witnesses soon reported spotting the damaged Hyundai pull onto Calle Nogales, about a mile from where the victim was struck. The driver was seen parking his heavily damaged car in the middle of the street and after the driver got out of the car he urinated and then calmly walked away from his vehicle. Witnesses reported the suspect was seen walking north through the neighborhood.

A few minutes later the man was again spotted on Devonshire Ave. According to witnesses the alleged suspect was trying to flag down passing cars for a ride.

Officers arrived moments later and detained the man without incident. He was positively identified by witnesses and subsequently arrested.

Officials have not yet released the man’s name or his charges and as of this report, the alleged suspect had not yet been booked into jail.

Officials investigating the hit and run determined the Hyundai had been traveling eastbound on Florida at a high rate of speed when he plowed into the victim in front of Quality Inn, between Lyon and Palm Avenues.

According to several witnesses, the suspect was going about 100 mph when he smashed into the victim’s mobility scooter.

As the gruesome crime scene was unfolding, one woman who earlier had been seen praying over the dying man’s body, was later seen nearby continuing her prayers for the victim’s family. She stated she had witnessed the crash and knew the victim; however, she declined to provide her name or say anything further.

During their investigation, officers called for the temporary closure of Florida Ave., between Hamilton Ave. and Elk St., and cars were directed away from the scene. The road remained closed for several hours.

It is unknown if drug or alcohol intoxication were contributing factors in the deadly incident.

Hemet PD’s investigation is active and ongoing and other than a social media post advising of police activity in the area, officials have not released any information regarding this incident.

This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.

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Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents video

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.