A man is accused of fleeing after running over and killing a toddler late Sunday night in West Phoenix.
Phoenix police responded to the incident near 31st Avenue and Buckeye Road shortly before 9 p.m.
When police arrived, they discovered 16-month-old Lupe Morales had been hit by a car and was in severe condition. He was brought to the hospital but died.
Police have identified Carlos Rojas Mora, 35, as the suspect. Prosecutors identified Mora as the child’s neighbour and stated that he is Mexican.
According to authorities, no one was watching Lupe when he went into the street and was struck by a car. According to investigators, Mora then got into another vehicle and drove away.
Mora was eventually apprehended and placed into Maricopa County Jail on a charge of hit-and-run resulting in death.
He appeared before a court on Monday afternoon.
“I lost my one-year-old son, and I’ll never be able to get him back,” the child’s mother stated at Mora’s first court appearance. “Instead of remaining on the scene and accepting responsibility for his actions, he left like a coward. I hope you don’t release this man. He is not a man; he is a monster.”
The child’s father also spoke before the court.
“It just hurts that he just left them there to die without helping us and tried to flee, and I just want justice for my son,” he replied.
Prosecutors claim Mora then requested a buddy to transport him to Mexico.
Mora’s friend apparently phoned Goodyear police to turn him in and dropped him off around 43rd and Missouri Avenue.
According to court papers, Mora arrived at another friend’s house and was arrested early Monday morning during a traffic stop in which he was a backseat passenger.
According to court documents, Mora told police that he fled because he knew the toddler’s father had a pistol and was afraid he would harm him. Mora said he was going to the police station when his friend was stopped and taken to jail.
“I can’t stress enough that if you think you’ve hit someone, stop your vehicle, double-check, and call police,” said Phoenix police Sgt Lorraine Fernandez. “We will come, we will respond, we will investigate, and we’re here to hear both sides of the story and figure out what happened.”
Mora is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
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