|
|
|
City of Lake Elsinore Update Posted: October 5, 2006
Police Department
PRESS RELEASE
Date/Time Written: Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 0230 hours
Type of Incident: Hit and Run Fatal Collision
Date/Time of Incident: Friday, June 23, 2006 at 2227 hours
Location of Incident: 32000 block of Riverside Drive (State Route 74), Lake Elsinore
Reporting Officer: Sergeant Ron Heim, 951-245-3300
File Number: L06174077
Details: On Friday, June 23rd, 2006 around 2229 hours, officers from the Lake Elsinore Police Department responded to the 32000 block of Riverside Drive in the city of Lake Elsinore concerning a major injury collision. Officers and members of the Riverside County Fire Department arrived on scene and found a male adult in the roadway suffering from major injuries. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary investigation indicates the pedestrian, identified as Phillip Reynero Jr., age 27 of Lake Elsinore was crossing Riverside Drive from north to south when he was struck by a vehicle driving without lights in the two-way center turn lane. The vehicle failed to stop at the collision scene and was last seen traveling westbound Riverside Drive toward Grand Avenue.
The vehicle is described as a gray or silver older model Nissan compact, possibly a Pulsar. The vehicle will have front end collision damage as a result of the impact and damage from an apparent earlier collision.
UPDATE, 6/24/06: On Saturday, June 24, 2006 the Lake Elsinore Police Department obtained a copy of a video surveillance tape taken from a local nightclub showing the possible involved vehicle of the hit and run fatal collision. The vehicle in the video is a late model Toyota MR-2 with a Hispanic male driver with an approximate age of early to mid-twenties. The vehicle was seen leaving the establishment at 2226 hours westbound on Riverside Drive without its lights on. The Lake Elsinore Police Department is attempting to identify the license plate number of that vehicle from the video footage.
UPDATE, 10/05/06: The Lake Elsinore Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in identifying the driver of a hit and run collision. At approximately 10:26 P.M. on June 23rd, a gray, late 80's style Toyota MR-2 exited the Bikini Beach Club, located on Riverside Drive in the city of Lake Elsinore. The driver of the vehicle is described as a Hispanic male adult in his early twenties wearing a beaded or shell style necklace. The driver narrowly missed striking a security guard in the club's parking lot before turning west onto Riverside Drive. Witnesses described the vehicle as traveling at a high rate of speed, without any exterior lighting and in the painted two-way center turn lane.
At the same time, an adult male was crossing Riverside drive, west of the Joy Street intersection and was struck in the two-way center turn lane by the Toyota. Witness statements indicated the Toyota made no evasive maneuvers to avoid the pedestrian, nor did the vehicle slow or stop after striking the pedestrian. The pedestrian, identified as Phillip Reynero Jr., age 27 of Illinois was killed. The Toyota was last seen fleeing the area westbound Riverside Drive toward Grand Avenue. The vehicle sustained a shattered windshield and hood damage.
The Lake Elsinore Police Department obtained photos of the male driver and vehicle taken from the Bikini Beach Club's surveillance cameras. It is hoped with the release of these photographs that someone knowing the driver and or having knowledge of the vehicle will come forward with information.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is requested to contact either Deputy Pat Kelly or Sergeant Ron Heim of the Lake Elsinore Police Department at (951) 245-3300
Click on photos to enlarge 
(Bottom photo is not the actual vehicle, but similar to suspect vehicle)Home Information Center Directory
