Oakland Carjacking Suspect Arrested In Petaluma For Hit-And-Run
PETALUMA (CBS SF) -- An Oakland carjacking suspect was arrested in Petaluma Saturday morning after allegedly injuring an elderly woman while driving under the influence, police said.
Officers were called at 7:10 a.m. to a report of a hit-and-run vehicle collision near the intersection of Payran and East Washington streets, according to police.
Police arriving on the scene located an 81-year-old Petaluma woman who had been struck and injured in the collision. She was rushed to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to be treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Police said the woman reported that the car that hit her had fled toward U.S. Highway 101. Officers also found the suspect vehicle's fallen front license plate at the scene, which was used to determine that the car had been reported stolen in an Oakland carjacking earlier Saturday morning, police said.
After broadcasting the vehicle description, law enforcement officers throughout Marin and Sonoma County began a search, focusing oneastern Petaluma where the car was last seen.
Around 8:35 a.m., Petaluma parking enforcement Officer Kimberly Mota spotted the vehicle traveling through downtown Petaluma.
She broadcast the information, sending patrol officers to the location who stopped the car and arrested the driver, identified as Hayward resident Raul Velazquez, 28.
Velazquez was arrested on suspicion of carjacking, driving a stolen vehicle, felony DUI, felony hit-and-run and on an outstanding arrest warrant for a prior theft. He is being held in Sonoma County Jail without bail.
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