A 23-year-old man was killed in Newport Beach after being struck by an alleged hit-and-run driver on New Year’s Day, authorities said.
The victim was discovered lying in the road on East Coast Highway at Newport Coast Drive just before 3 a.m. Thursday by a passerby who called police, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Police Department.
The man was critically injured as a result of being hit by a vehicle, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was identified as Travis Marton of Valencia by the Orange County Coroner’s Office.
A short time after the crash, officers with the Laguna Beach Police Department detained 56-year-old Ronald Aviles, the release stated.
The San Clemente resident was subsequently arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and booked at the Newport Beach police jail facility, police said. They noted that alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the incident.
Aviles was being held on $50,000 bail.
The collision remained under investigation and anyone with information was urged to call Newport Beach police Investigator Bill Hume at 949-644-3746 or email him at whume@nbpd.org
