California Highway Patrol officers arrested the driver involved in a fatal collision with a pedestrian in Canyon Country on Thursday evening on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a CHP report of the incident.
Around 5:35 p.m., a 43-year-old Canyon Country man was running westbound across the north- and southbound lanes of Sierra Highway, just south of Arline Street, near Sand Canyon Road.
CHP officers believed Hector Castillo, a 38-year-old Newhall man, was driving southbound on Sierra Highway in a 2006 Chevy Silverado pickup truck when the Canyon Country man ran directly into the path of the truck, according to the preliminary report from the CHP.
“Due to (the victim)’s failure to yield the right-of-way to vehicles upon a highway, (the victim) was struck by the front right of the Chevrolet Silverado,” according to the CHP report by Officer Holeman.
The victim has yet to be identified by the coroner’s office pending the notification of his next of kin. Officers reported that Castillo struck the victim with the right front bumper of his truck while traveling at a rate of about 50 mph.
Due to the storm going on at the time, and the proximity of Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies, fire and sheriff’s officials were the first ones on the scene.
Medical aid was rendered to the victim at the scene of the collision for nearly 40 minutes, according to the CHP report. He was reported deceased at 6:10 p.m.
Anyone with information regarding the crash can contact the Newhall CHP Area Office at 661-600-1600.
Castillo is being held in the SCV Sheriff’s Station jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, as of the publication of this story.
The incident marks the second report of an alleged DUI resulting in a fatality in the last two months.
In the previous incident the day after Halloween, Sgt. Mark Perkins of the Sheriff’s Station Traffic Unit said a murder charge was presented against 20-year-old Raul Ramirez, of Canyon Country.
Ramirez was ultimately charged with second-degree murder in connection with the single-vehicle crash that happened around 3:41 a.m. near Sutters Pointe Plaza in Saugus. The severity of his charge was due to the fact that he was on probation for a DUI charge.
Ramirez is being held without bail at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, according to Sheriff’s Department custody records online.
