CHP identifies driver in Paso Robles crash that killed 1, injured 2 others
The California Highway Patrol has identified the driver who allegedly fled the scene of a crash where one of his passengers died and two were hospitalized in Paso Robles this week.
Angel Melquiades Ramos, 20, was driving a gray 2008 BMW 328i “at a high rate of speed” on Creston Road west of Neal Springs Road at about 12:29 a.m. Monday, when it turned to the right and left the roadway off the south road edge “for an unknown reason,” CHP said.
The vehicle overturned multiple times, ejecting all three passengers.
The passengers were not wearing seat belts, according to a CHP release.
The vehicle landed on its wheels facing in a northern direction within both lanes of Creston Road, CHP said.
One 43-year-old passenger from Salinas was pronounced dead at the scene, while 41-year-old Carlos S. Torres Diaz and 47-year-old Aliandro Torres Gomez, both Paso Robles residents, were transported to Sierra Vista Medical Center in San Luis Obispo with major injuries.
Melquiades Ramos fled the scene immediately after the crash, CHP said. He was located and arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run and vehicular manslaughter at 11:25 a.m. the same day.
He was transported to a local hospital following his interview with CHP, where he was admitted to treat his injuries, according to the agency. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was not in jail custody, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office’s Who’s in Custody page.
A previous version of this story said the person who died was from Santa Maria, according to CHP. Her family has clarified she is from Salinas.
