Santa Rosa Police announced an arrest on Feb. 19, in a hit-and-run case involving a child.
Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home shows 29-year-old Dominick Weaver in a black Sedan hitting Hazelann, throwing her almost ten feet into the air before fleeing the scene.
The child received minor injuries in the crash and landed in the street after being hit, screamed, and then ran away with her brother and friend.
Conzet was scared by watching her sister get hit and thrown into the air. “I felt like I was about to pass out,” he told ABC.
Police received a call about the incidence at 5:14 p.m. and transported Hazelann to the hospital.
Public Provides Multiple Tips to Police
The public provided multiple tips to the SRPD Traffic Division and the investigations team arrested Weaver on Tuesday at about 3:30 p.m.“One of the tips involved surveillance video of Weaver attempting to hide the vehicle after the collision occurred. Traffic Officers conducted several days of follow-up that involved review of Weaver’s social media posts, in which he was seen driving the vehicle involved in the collision, a 2004, black BMW 645ci,” said the police in an updated release.
Following the execution of a search warrant at Weaver’s residence on Broadmoor Street on Tuesday in Santa Rosa, the investigators found him hiding in an “upstairs bedroom.”
On being interviewed by the police, Weaver admitted to hitting the child and fleeing the scene. According to the press release, his BMW was recovered from his house.
“The Santa Rosa Police Department would like to thank the public for sending us tips involving this case that ultimately led to the suspect’s arrest,” the police said.
Leading Cause of Death for Children
Fatalities in cases of children being hit by cars are higher because children are likely to pay less attention to roads and their smaller bodies are more prone to fatal injuries.
Psychological scientist John Wann and his colleagues at the University of London conducted experiments to study the perceptual skills of children on roads in comparison to those of adults. They found that children’s ability to perceive a speeding car on road doesn’t match that of adults.
“Paradoxically, faster-moving cars appear to loom less than slow-moving cars, creating a dangerous illusion that speedy cars are not approaching,” the report said.
When the speed exceeds 25 miles per mile, children are more likely to be hit. “Not only do speedy drivers need more reaction time, now it appears that young pedestrians simply can’t see the cars coming in the first place. It can be a deadly combination,” the report said.
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