Reported Truck Damage to CHP : Driver Arrested in Fatal Hit-and-Run

An Antelope Valley man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a hit-and-run fatality after he went to a California Highway Patrol office to report that his pickup truck had been damaged in an accident, authorities said.

David Arnold, 49, of Quartz Hill was arrested on manslaughter charges stemming from the Tuesday morning death of John D. Zumwalt, 35, of Lancaster.

Arnold was arrested after officers at the Lancaster CHP office noticed that the man’s truck matched a description of the vehicle involved in the accident, said Sgt. Richard Wood of the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station. Arnold did not tell the CHP officers that he had hit a pedestrian, Wood said.

He said investigators found evidence at the scene linking the truck to the accident, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in Lancaster.

Zumwalt was attempting to cross Avenue I, just west of 10th Street West, when he was hit by a westbound truck and dragged nearly 100 feet, authorities said. Witnesses told deputies that the truck drove onto a curb, apparently to dislodge the body from the undercarriage, Wood said. Zumwalt died at the scene.

Arnold drove to the CHP office about 3:45 p.m. to report that his truck had been damaged in an accident, Wood said.

Arnold, who was in custody at the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station, was expected to undergo a blood-alcohol test to determine if he had been drinking, Wood said. He said the results might not be conclusive because the accident occurred more than 15 hours before the arrest.