CHP makes arrest in rural Fairfield crash
The suspect had been booked and released one day earlier on a DUI charge, authorities said.
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A Napa County man was booked and released on a driving while under the influence charge on the same day he was involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident in rural Fairfield, authorities with the California Highway Patrol announced in a social media post on Saturday.
On March 12, Solano County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Abernathy Road and Mankas Corner in rural Fairfield for a report of a DUI driver. Deputies tracked down a gold-colored Lexus sedan with major front-end damage and arrested the driver, 49-year-old Marcos Manuel Guzman of Napa County.
Guzman was booked into Solano County jail and later released on four DUI-related charges, according to booking logs reviewed by Solano NewsNet. All of his initial charges were misdemeanors; jails have been releasing those accused of misdemeanor crimes due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
One day later, CHP officers were alerted to the discovery of a body that was in the roadway of Abernathy Road near Andrews Lane. An investigation later revealed the body was connected to a hit-and-run incident that occurred one day prior when the driver of a Honda all-terrain vehicle was struck by a passing car.
After processing the scene and the vehicle, detectives connected the incident to the gold Lexus sedan that Guzman was driving when he was arrested for DUI one day prior. CHP officials say they immediately obtained an arrest warrant for Guzman based on their information.
On Monday, officials asked for the public’s help with information that could lead to an arrest in the case. Guzman was not named in the bulletin, but just a few days later, he was arrested and booked into Napa County jail on charges of felony hit-and-run and gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence.
He remains in the Napa County jail pending his extradition to face charges in Solano County.
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