The man who fled the scene of an accident in Mesa, Arizona, earlier this week, has been arrested. On Thursday, October 1st, the Mesa Police Department said that they arrested Joseph Eckert in a press release. He would need representation from a car injury lawyer.
The crash report disclosed that the suspect struck and killed 81-year-old Larry Lans on Tuesday, September 29th. The victim was walking on the sidewalk at Alma School Road, north of Isabella Avenue when the collision happened around 6 a.m.
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The medics took Lans to a local hospital where medical personnel pronounced him dead. The police said that Eckert was northbound when he struck the victim, and he went on to hit a water meter valve and an SRP electrical box.
The man turned southbound and fled the scene without stopping to check on the victim. The investigators have not uncovered why the suspect drove onto the sidewalk. They used a surveillance video of the vehicle to track it down to Tempe.
MPD officers located the owner of the vehicle, and the individual identified Eckert as the driver. The man later admitted to driving the car at the time of the accident and hitting the power box. He added that he has no recollection of hitting a person.
The police booked him on one count of failing to stop for a fatality collision. Under Arizona law, a person found guilty of the offense would face either probation or jail time depending on the accident’s facts.
Disclaimer: The Safety Watch article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.