RIVERSIDE, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> A father of seven was killed on Monday morning in a hit-and-run crash on southbound Interstate 215 near the 91 Freeway, leaving his wife and children devastated.
Gilberto Sotelo was hit and killed on Monday about 1:46am, August 7, on the side of I-215, at the 91 Freeway interchange in the city of Riverside. His Chevy Silverado had run out of gas, and he was filling it up. That’s when a blue color Honda SUV or truck hit him and sped away. His body was flown over 30 feet onto the side of an embankment, adding insult to injury they were waiting for emergency crews to arrive a homeless person pick-pocketed Sotelo’s lifeless body.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help Myra financially. Their children range in age from just over 2 years old to 18. They’re also asking the driver who hit the 38-year-old father, to turn themselves in.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. They said they found Gilberto Sotelo’s stolen phone and the person who stole it. Investigators also said they’re looking for a blue-colored Honda, either an SUV or a truck, that likely has damage to its front right side. Anyone with information about the suspect vehicle is asked to call the CHP Accident Investigation Unit at 951-637-8000.
The family’s GoFundMe page can be found by clicking here.
Update: Giovanni Ceja, 31, of San Antonio, was on vacation, he had borrowed the vehicle from a relative and then returned it the next day, making up a false story about why it was damaged. Ceja was arrested for the fatal hit and run crash. CHP says its investigation, aided by media reports and tips from the public, led them to a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck at a repair shop in Riverside on August 9. That led them to identify Ceja as the alleged driver.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department took Ceja into custody on Aug. 14 after being contacted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Ceja is now awaiting extradition from Texas on charges that are expected to include murder, manslaughter with gross intoxication, felony driving under the influence causing injury and felony hit and run.
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