Laguna Hills : Man, 44, Is Arrested in Hit-and-Run Death

A Laguna Hills man with three prior drunk-driving convictions is a suspect in the hit-and-run death of a 22-year-old Laguna Beach man, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Officers said that Harold McChristian, 44, was being held on suspicion of drunk driving and felony hit and run after his car struck the victim, who was fixing a flat tire late Tuesday on the shoulder of Paseo de Valencia in Laguna Hills.

McChristian was driving south, south of Los Alisos Boulevard, in the lane nearest the curb when he hit the other man, who died at the scene, the CHP said. Officers declined to identify the victim, saying that his family was vacationing in Switzerland and hadn’t been notified.

McChristian fled the scene in his 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass but returned in about 25 minutes, CHP officer Ed Michalkiewicz said. He was arrested after officers determined that his car looked like the one involved in the accident.

McChristian is being held in Orange County Jail on $25,000 bail on suspicion of drunk driving, felony hit and run and felony manslaughter. He has been convicted three times of drunk driving and had a prior reckless driving arrest, Michalkiewicz said.