Man Arrested In Deadly Lake Elsinore Hit-And-Run Of Young Boy

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A man who was behind the wheel of a truck that hit a young boy walking on a Lake Elsinore street this week, killing him, is now in police custody, sheriff's officials say. The suspect in Tuesday's hit-and-run crash ultimately turned himself in.

Lake Elsinore resident David Loperena, 26, walked into the Lake Elsinore sheriff's station at 5:53 p.m. Wednesday, a day after the crash happened in the area of Sumner Avenue and Langstaff Street.

Woodland said that earlier Wednesday "with the assistance of information provided by members of the community, Lake Elsinore Police Officers and Detectives located the vehicle involved in the collision at a home in the city of Perris. Damage to the front of the vehicle was consistent with having been involved in a collision." Officials previously described that vehicle as a red Chevrolet truck.

An investigation linked Loperena to the deadly crash and he was arrested while at the police station, according to the sergeant.

The man was taken to the French Valley jail, where he was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run. Loperena's bail was set at $75,000 and he is due in court on Friday, booking records show.

The 10-year-old boy who was killed in the crash has not been publicly identified. Police said he was rushed to the hospital following the collision, where he later died.

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• Boy, 10, Killed In Lake Elsinore Hit-And-Run: Police

— Image via Riverside County Sheriff's Department