A man who is suspected of intentionally running down and killing a pedestrian with his pickup truck and then fleeing to Mexico has pleaded not guilty in a San Diego court.
The Times of San Diego reports that at approximately 4:30 a.m.on April 28th, 32-year-old Zachary Addison Porter allegedly struck 32-year-old Met Austin Saipengo Simon in the 1100 block of Eighth Avenue with his flatbed Ford F-150 pickup truck.
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Investigators with the San Diego Police Department found that after Addison struck Simon with his pickup truck, the victim was dragged across a parking lot located near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and B-Street at a high rate of speed. Porter did not render aid to Simon and drove away from the scene of the crash.
Emergency personnel transported Simon to an area hospital for treatment. He was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
According to Lt. Matt Dobbs with the San Diego Police Department, initially, it was believed that Simon was the victim of a hit-and-run crash. Surveillance video obtained from the area, however, revealed that the crash was intentional.
Deputy District Attorney, Rikole Santin, alleges that Porter went to his home in La Mesa immediately following the fatal crash. He then left the US in his distinctive pickup truck and fled to Mexico. The truck and Porter were located in Tijuana earlier this month.
Porter was extradited to the US and was booked into San Diego Central Jail to face the charge of first-degree murder. A judge ordered Porter to be held without bail. He is due to appear in court on July 9th.
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