Red Light Camera Helps Salem Police Arrest Hit and Run Driver
The driver called police shortly after the accident to report that his vehicle had just been stolen.
(SALEM, Ore. ) — A West Salem man has been arrested after a hit and run crash involving a bicyclist Friday night at the intersection of Union Street NE and Commerical Street NE.
Salem News Journal was on scene just after the accident took place just before 9:00 p.m. The bicyclist was identified by Salem Police as 53-year-old Ricardo Soto of Salem.
Soto was traveling east on Union Street NE, and crossing Commercial Street NE, when he was struck by a silver 1990's model Jeep Cherokee who had been traveling south on Commercial St. NE
Soto was thrown into the air and landed in the roadway with injuries. The Jeep Cherokee continued past the accident scene, pulled over and stopped for a few moments before fleeing the scene, driving south on Commercial St NE from Marion St. NE, police said.
Soto was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Thanks in part to a red light camera at the intersection of Commercial Street NE and Marion Street NE, police were able to track down the driver who had called police at 9:15 p.m. to report that his vehicle had been stolen.
Police made contact with 38-year-old Antonio Ramos-Perez from West Salem just after midnight.
During the interview, Ramos-Perez admitted to being the driver at the time the vehicle went through the red light at Commercial Street NE and Marion Street NE, but denied being involved in the traffic crash. The owner initially said that he drove home to West Salem, where he later discovered the vehicle stolen.
As the interview continued, police say Ramos-Perez admitted to being the driver at the time of hitting the bicyclist. He told officers that he got scared and fled the scene. He then returned home, reported the vehicle as stolen and then drove it out into rural Polk County where he left it.
The driver told the officers where the Jeep Cherokee was located, and they were able to recover it.
Ramos-Perez was booked into the Marion County Jail on charges of Felony Hit & Run -- Failure to Perform the Duties of a driver involved in an accident -- and Initiating a False Report.
Video from the scene Friday night by Salem News Journal photographer Jerry Freeman:
