A suspect was arrested in Redwood City Monday following a fatal hit-and-run the night after police located his vehicle using data from automated license plate readers.
Last Sunday, 72-year-old Maria Perez Torres was fatally struck in Redwood City near Middlefield Road and Beech Street, and the suspect fled the scene, as KRON4 reported earlier this week. The next day, investigators identified the suspect vehicle as a late-model white Toyota Tundra after reviewing surveillance footage from the scene.
In a follow-up, KRON4 reports that detectives then used automated license plate reader data to narrow down matching vehicles in the area around the time of the crash. According to Redwood City police, officers located a truck tied to the investigation at a Redwood City home Monday and towed it as evidence.
Police identified the driver as 52-year-old Francisco GallardoAlvarez of Redwood City and arrested him on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run resulting in injury or death. He was booked into the San Mateo County Maguire Correctional Facility.
Torres was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital after the collision and later died from her injuries. Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information may contact the Redwood City Police Department non-emergency number at (650) 780-7100.
Image: Flock license plate reader and camera with solar panel. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
