The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office filed two charges against a man accused of striking a motorcyclist with his truck and dragging the bike until he dislodged it from the truck, about a quarter-mile away, as the motorcyclist was left to die on Soledad Canyon Road in February 2023.
Jeff Ellery Engels, 58, was riding northbound on Soledad, east of Briggs Road in Agua Dulce, around 6 p.m. Feb. 7 when a white Ford F-450 made a U-turn in front of him, according to statements from law enforcement officials in court documents obtained by The Signal.
James Preston Fulton, 60, who lived not far from the crash site, turned himself in on Feb. 15, 2023, after he was named a person of interest during the investigation of Engels’ death, according to Officer Josh Greengard, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s Newhall Office.
The driver of the truck allegedly fled the scene, and witnesses said it was last seen heading westbound on Soledad, west of Briggs Road.
In court filings associated with the investigation, a CHP officer alleged investigators were able to track Fulton’s truck for several miles after the collision.
In their warrants, CHP officers said the evidence they collected indicates Fulton pulled over in the 9900 block of Soledad Canyon Road, according to surveillance footage, and then proceeded to back up the truck several times until the motorcycle was dislodged and drove off heading south.
The day after the crash, CHP officers found a truck matching the description a couple of miles away from the scene.
“Vehicle parts located on scene, including a partial drive line and an exhaust bracket, matched parts either damaged or missing on the (motorcycle),” according to a report from a CHP officer who inspected an F-450 registered to Fulton. The officer also noted the existence of “biological tissue and clothing fibers (like those worn by the victim) were located in multiple locations on the underside of the vehicle.” The CHP officer’s statement also notes a large amount of marijuana was located inside the vehicle.
Fulton was arrested again Feb. 20, 2023, by Palmdale Sheriff’s Station deputies on suspicion of carjacking and assault causing injury in connection to a completely separate incident, according to Sheriff’s Department records.
He’s now facing a July 24 court date to set a preliminary hearing for both the allegations from the crash and the Palmdale-area car theft and assault charges.
He’s facing assault and grand theft auto charges from the Feb. 20, 2023, incident.
In connection with Engels’ Feb. 6, 2023, death, Fulton is charged with: vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence; a rule of court violation that he has one of more prior violent felony convictions; a hit-and-run resulting in death; a special allegation in connection with the hit-and-run charge that he caused a great bodily injury; and a rule of court violation on that charge, as well, regarding Fulton’s criminal record.
The charges were filed June 18 and Fulton pleaded not guilty to both counts.
A CHP official indicated delays associated with processing some of the evidence regarding the crime scene, which is why the case was presented to the DA’s office over a year after the collision.
Fulton does not appear to be in custody, per LASD custody records available online.