Driver who fled Redwood City crash hits, kills passenger who tried to stop him, police say

The suspect in a Redwood City hit-and-run crash was arrested on Wednesday, a day after he hit and killed a man who was attempting to stop him from leaving the scene, authorities said.

In a press release on Thursday, the Redwood Police Department said the hit-and-run victim, a 36-year-old man, had been a passenger in a Jeep traveling southbound on Hudson Street when the car was sideswiped by a white Ford pickup truck leaving the driveway of a Shell gas station at the corner of Hudson Street and Woodside Road.

After the collision, the driver of the Jeep pulled over to exchange insurance information. However, the driver of the Ford, identified by police as 32-year-old Redwood City resident Lazaro Gregorio Chacajlux, drove away and did not stop, police said.

According to a press release, the Jeep's passenger ran after the pickup, caught up to it as it slowed in traffic on Woodside Road, and grabbed onto the truck to try to stop it from driving away.

Chacajlux allegedly accelerated with the victim still holding on, causing the victim to fall from the truck. The Ford then ran over the victim, police said. Officers arrived to find medics already providing aid to the victim. Despite efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene, the department said.

A police drone was used to find Chacajlux's abandoned Ford pickup truck a short distance from the crash, and police seized the car as evidence.

On Wednesday, Chacajlux surrendered to police investigators, the department said. He was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of a felony hit-and-run resulting in death and gross vehicular manslaughter.

Anyone with additional information was encouraged to contact the Redwood City Police Department at (650) 780-7100.