Orange : Driver Held After Boy Is Hurt in Hit-and-Run

A Santa Ana man was arrested Thursday evening after he allegedly fled the scene of an accident in which a car hit a 7-year-old boy who had run into the street, Orange police said.

Ysidro R. Pantoja, 19, was driving northbound on Glassell Street just north of Culver Avenue about 7:10 p.m. when Jacob Anthon of Orange “ran out in front of the vehicle,” said Public Information Officer Bob Gustafson.

Pantoja’s 1977 Cadillac started to brake, swerved right and struck Jacob, “knocking him to the pavement,” Gustafson said. Police said Pantoja did not stop but continued driving north on Glassell Street. A witness pursued Pantoja’s car for about a mile and attempted to pull him over, flashing his headlights, Gustafson said.

The police spokesman said the witness caught up with Pantoja at Almond Avenue and Cambridge Street and yelled out his window, ordering Pantoja to return to the scene of the accident. Pantoja complied, Gustafson said.

Pantoja was arrested for felony hit-and-run, even though Jacob was the principal cause of the accident, Gustafson said.

“The boy is the primary collision factor in the accident, but the driver was arrested for failing to stop at an accident where injuries occurred,” he said.

Jacob, who suffered minor cuts and bruises, was taken by paramedics to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Gustafson said. A hospital spokeswoman said the boy was treated in the emergency room and released.

Pantoja is being held on $10,000 bail at the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange, a jail spokeswoman said.