BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — One man is dead after checking his mailbox when he became a victim of a hit-and-run crash Friday, Nov. 17, just east of Delano, prompting officials to begin searching for the hit-and-run driver, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officers were dispatched to a report of a hit-and-run crash with injuries at the intersection of Benner Avenue and Schuster Road, just south of Kernell around 2:47 p.m.
Officials said the crash happened after a 2007 Cadillac traveling northbound on Benner Avenue failed to stop and collided with a 2018 Ford heading eastbound on Schuster Road at the intersection.
At the same time, Mark Andrew Morales, 61, of McFarland was standing at a mailbox near his parked Chevrolet on the north dirt shoulder of Schuster Road, just east of the intersection.
The impact of the crash between the Cadillac and Ford sent the Ford traveling out of control in a northeasterly direction and struck Morales and his Chevy vehicle. Morales sustained major injuries and was transported to Kern Medical Center.
The driver of the Cadillac fled from the scene on foot. CHP said the Cadillac was not reported stolen and no arrests have been made. The crash remains under investigation.
Morales died of his injuries Sunday, Nov. 19 at 12:33 a.m. It is unknown if alcohol and or drugs were factors in the crash.
Any witnesses with information on the hit-and-run crash are asked to call CHP at 661-396-6600.
