California Highway Patrol officers with the Newhall-area Office identified the driver of the vehicle they suspect to be responsible for a fatal hit-and-run collision, which is still part of an active investigation, according to officials.
There have been no arrests made or charges filed in the fatal crash, as of this story’s publication, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department custody records.
A three-car collision reported at 4:13 p.m. Oct. 8 resulted in the death of Semaj Weldon, the 28-year-old Lancaster driver of a Dodge truck that crashed into a white Kia that, according to a CHP officer’s report, swerved in front of the truck as both vehicles entered State Route 14 at Golden Valley Road.
The driver was named in a search-warrant request for a Kia left behind at the scene of the three-vehicle collision, which also resulted in a nearby Ford truck being hit by a dolly that was thrown from the truck in the crash.
The Newhall-area CHP office declined to comment on the report Thursday through its spokesman, Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez, except to say that no charges have been presented, and it’s still an ongoing investigation.
Multiple witnesses reported that the driver of the Kia fled the scene, barefoot, and holding a phone, according to a CHP officer’s affidavit in support of a search of the Kia.
CHP officers reported that on the day after the crash, a man who identified himself as the driver of the Kia admitted to leaving the scene of the crash and not contacting the authorities until the following day. He indicated that he wished to be cooperative, according to the officer’s sworn affidavit.
Through the course of their investigation, CHP officers also learned that there was a verbal dispute at a Golden Valley Road gas station “mere minutes” before the crash.
A witness related that the Kia driver got into an intense verbal altercation with Weldon and the other occupants of the truck at the gas station, where shouting and threats ensued, based on witness accounts and surveillance footage from the gas station.
The altercation somewhat spilled onto Golden Valley Road, in terms of the drivers continuing to be more aggressive to each other, based on the witness and footage that CHP officers collected, which were mentioned in the search warrant.
The Kia was seen “brake-checking” the Dodge truck as both appeared to get onto the highway.
As they entered State Route 14, both vehicles were traveling at “very high rates of speed,” per the officer’s statement of probable cause, and the Dodge truck accelerated to the right of the Kia, and attempted to “pull in front and cut off” the Kia, when the crash occurred, south of Via Princesa.
The report indicated the left rear side of the Dodge truck crashed into the front passenger side of the Kia, which resulted in both vehicles traveling across all lanes of traffic toward the concrete center median. The truck ended up crashing into the median, flipping over and then coming to a rest in the northbound carpool lane, per the officer’s statement.
After the crash, a witness reported the driver left the scene of the crash with his phone, an account that ran contrary to what the driver had told officers in his post-crash interview the following day.
Officers later learned the Kia driver had a 2021 DUI conviction at the Santa Clarita Courthouse. The court record of that conviction also denoted a 2018 conviction for DUI.
The driver said that he did not call the police because they were already at the scene of the crash, according to the officer’s statement. He had walked home to his house, which was near the scene of the crash, then left his apartment to “walk around.”
Anyone who might have any information regarding the crash can contact Officer Mohammed Hotaki at 661-600-1600. Anyone who would prefer to provide information anonymously, can call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), or use a smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” app.
