California Highway Patrol officers say they have identified the driver in the fatal hit-and-run of a 17-year-old Woodland girl and are seeking a warrant for his arrest.
Camron Matthew Ervin, 26, of Sacramento, told investigators he was on his way to work at a Woodland warehouse on the morning of July 5 when he struck an “unknown object” on northbound Interstate 5 near County Road 103, CHP Officer Bryan Konvalin said Tuesday.
Officers believe he hit Claudia Marie Gonzalez, who according to witnesses had run into the freeway’s traffic lanes after becoming upset during a ride home from a West Sacramento party. She died from her injuries in the 12:30 a.m. collision.
“In his statements to officers he (Ervin) said he didn’t know what he hit,” Konvalin said.
Several days after the incident, the CHP received an anonymous tip that led them to the discovery of a damaged brown 1998 Buick Park Avenue at Sims Metal Management, a north Sacramento auto dismantling yard. The vehicle had been scheduled for destruction before CHP investigators took possession of it, Konvalin said.
Ervin was the vehicle’s registered owner, according to the CHP.
Konvalin said the investigation is continuing and will be submitted to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office “to see what charges the evidence supports.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Woodland CHP office at 530-662-4685.
Sacramento Superior Court records indicate Ervin has a 2012 conviction for failure to obey a peace officer, a vehicle-code violation. A 2005 arrest for petty theft was dismissed, court records show.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter @laurenkeene
