Friend Says Accused Hit-And-Run Driver Came Clean To Him Before Arrest
FORESTHILL (CBS13) - The man accused of killing a tow truck driver and leaving the scene last week had stopped eating and finally admitted what he'd done shortly before his arrest, his friend told CBS13 on Monday.
"I noticed something was up these last few days," a man who didn't want to go on camera told CBS13 on Monday, a day after Christopher Keller, 25, was arrested by the California Highway Patrol. "He hasn't been eating, he hasn't been sleeping."
But the man had no clue at first that his best friend may have been hiding from police at his Foresthill home after a deadly hit-and-run.
"He brought his car up here and he was like, 'Oh I need help fixing my windshield, I hit a deer.'"
Officers say it wasn't a deer but rather an innocent tow truck driver. David Robinson Jr.'s body was struck next to his rig on Interstate 80 near Newcastle last Tuesday.
Through an investigation and the public's help, officers located Keller on Sunday at this friend's home. They say Keller's heavily damaged silver 1991 Honda was in the driveway covered by a tarp. His friend says ironically officers arrived at the home just about an hour after Keller admitted to him what had actually happened.
"He told me and I said 'You better take care of it. You better call somebody. You better do something. You have to fix this,'" his friend said.
For Robinson's family, an arrest means the start of healing.
"I started balling, thinking my son is probably now at rest," David's mother, Vickie Robinson said Monday.
But they are still left wondering why Keller fled and left Robinson to die on the roadway.
"Why did you leave?" David Robinson Sr. asked. "I mean that's the biggest thing. Call 911, maybe if he had a little more time, he might have made it."
Keller is charged with felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter. CBS13 also learned that he is facing a drug charge from earlier this month, but officers say they have no reason to believe drugs or alcohol were involved in this crash.
