Sheriff’s CSO & 3 arrestees hospitalized after Riverside DUI hit and run flips transport van – Man later arrested
RIVERSIDE, Calif., — Authorities say four people, including a Sheriff’s Community Service Officer and three arrestees, were hospitalized after a DUI hit and run collision that caused the transportation van they were in to overturn in Riverside early Friday morning, Jan. 28. The alleged drunk driver who fled the scene after the collision was later arrested after officers followed a debris and fluid trail that led them about one mile away, where they located the man and apprehended him.
The arrestees were being transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center to be booked on various charges resulting from Thursday arrests when their van was struck within the intersection of 14th and Lime streets, less than a quarter-mile from the downtown Riverside jail they were to be booked into.
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City of Riverside police and fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the crash shortly after 12:30 a.m., Riverside Sheriff’s Correctional Sergeant Deanna Pecoraro has since said of the collision and subsequent arrest. Deputies from the nearby jail and from the surrounding areas were also notified and responded to the scene to assist.
When officials arrived, they found a white Ford transport van whose four occupants, including three chained and handcuffed arrestees and the Sheriff’s CSO who had been driving the van, were being helped from the transportation vehicle. Unconfirmed witness statements from the scene indicated the van may have been transporting arrestees from the Moreno Valley area when the collision occurred.
One of three arrestees is seen being loaded onto a gurney after a DUI hit and run collision that caused a transport van to overturn in Riverside early yesterday morning. OC Hawk News photo
Although the van was found on its wheels, evidence at the scene indicated the vehicle had overturned once, before coming back to rest right side up.
All four occupants were transported to a local hospital with unspecified injuries Pecoraro has since described as minor.
Although investigating officers learned the vehicle that struck the van, a white Honda CR-V, and its driver had fled the scene prior to the arrival of emergency personnel, they noted that the Honda’s front bumper – with license plate still attached – had been left at the scene.
Officers also located a fluid and debris trail leading away from the scene of the crash. Officers followed the trail for about a mile, to the area of 12th Street and Bermuda Avenue, where they located and detained the driver without incident.
Although the allegedly drunk driver fled the scene of the crash, he left behind his front bumper with its license plate still attached. OC Hawk News photo
During their subsequent investigation, Riverside officers determined that the Sheriff’s van was traveling west on 14th Street when it entered the intersection at Lime Street on a green light.
The Honda CR-V was traveling south on Lime Street when the driver failed to stop for the red light at 14th Street and smashed into the Sheriff’s van, causing it to overturn one time.
The driver who fled the scene, 27-year-old, Miguel Gamboa Fragoza, of San Bernardino, was arrested by the Riverside Police Department and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in injuries and hit and run.
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Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail or bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Feb. 1.
Riverside PD’s investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is encouraged to contact the department at (951) 826-5700. Callers can refer to incident file number 220002358 and can remain anonymous.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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