Case # 15HF1144
Date: October 6, 2015
MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR KILLING SKATEBOARDER IN HIT-AND-RUN CRASH AS VICTIM WAS CROSSING STREET
*Law Enforcement is seeking additional information in this case
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man is scheduled to be arraigned today for killing a skateboarder in a hit-and-run crash as the victim was crossing a street. Andrew Christopher Michaels, 19, Laguna Niguel, is charged with one felony count of hit and run with death. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. He is being held on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at 2:45 p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
At approximately 10:10 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2015, Michaels is accused of driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck traveling eastbound on Del Obispo Street approaching an intersection at Paseo Carolina in San Juan Capistrano. Michaels is accused of hitting 23-year-old Cesar Medina, as he was crossing the street on a skateboard, and dragging his body with the truck for approximately 100 feet. The defendant is accused of driving away from the scene without stopping the vehicle to render aid or assistance to the victim. Witnesses at the scene called 911 and paramedics transported Medina to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. Medina was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m. as a result of injuries he sustained in the crash.
On the evening of Oct. 3, 2015, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who investigated this case, arrested the defendant at his home.
The investigation in this case is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact OCSD Traffic Bureau Sergeant Ray Wert at (949) 425-1860.
Deputy District Attorney Stephen Cornwell of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.