Pacifica Man Accused of Fleeing Fatal Crash Site Pleads Not Guilty

By Bay City News Service:

A man accused of fleeing after fatally hitting a pedestrian with his truck in Daly City in December pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony hit-and-run causing death charge, prosecutors said.

While Joro Petrovmoray, 40, is not accused of causing the accident that killed 77-year-old Daly City resident Jose Rosel on Dec. 4, he has been charged with a felony for allegedly driving away from the scene without calling for help, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday.

Petrovmoray, a Pacifica resident, was arrested in February after police issued a call for help finding the truck that struck Rosel as he walked in a crosswalk on state Highway 35 near Westridge Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Rosel was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses provided police with a good description of the Ford F-150 truck that hit Rosel and police released the description with a plea for assistance in late December. Eventually they tracked the truck to an auto body shop in San Francisco where Petrovmoray had allegedly sold it, according to prosecutors.

Petrovmoray remains free on a $50,000 bail bond and is scheduled to return to court May 7. His defense attorney, Charles Smith, was not immediately available for comment.

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