Motorists’ Tip Leads to Arrest in Hit-and-Run : Capture: Yorba Linda man is in custody after unidentified couple spot car described in news story of freeway accident that killed boy.

A 20-year-old Yorba Linda man was arrested Monday in the hit-and-run death of an 8-year-old boy, after an alert couple spotted the man’s damaged Mercury Merkur, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Brandon Matthew Wattier was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter, and taken to the Orange County jail, CHP spokeswoman Angel Johnson said. Jail officials said Wattier was being held on $25,000 bail.

Wesley Straw of Moreno Valley was killed Saturday night in Orange when the Infiniti in which he and other family members were riding was struck by a white Merkur on the Costa Mesa Freeway.

According to witnesses and the CHP, the Merkur was weaving through the southbound lanes of the freeway near Collins Avenue when it struck the Infiniti, which overturned and landed in a concrete ditch. Straw was pronounced dead of internal injuries at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where his father and sister were treated for minor abrasions.

A coroner’s investigator said Monday that it is still unclear whether the Infiniti’s passengers were wearing seat belts.

The CHP issued a call for help in locating the distinctive vehicle, with tinted windows, a large spoiler on the back and damage to its left side.

Brea Police Officer John A. Burks said he was responding to a minor complaint Monday afternoon when a couple in a car behind him near the intersection of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Rose Drive began honking their horn.

Burks said the man approached his car and told him they had just seen the car described in the paper. They gave him a license number and pointed out the direction the Merkur took, he said.

As Burks took off, he said the couple left without identifying themselves.

“I have no idea who they were,” Burks said. “They got into their car and left.”

Within two minutes, Burks had pulled Wattier over. Wattier, dressed in shorts and a pullover, cooperated with the officer, who turned him over to the CHP.

Later Monday, Burks was still amazed at the tip and the quick capture.

“These things rarely pan out,” said Burks, 25. “I was caught by surprise when I found the vehicle. Things worked out very well.”

The CHP said there were no outstanding warrants for Wattier, who had been a standout volleyball player for Esperanza High School in Anaheim. There was no answer Monday night at Wattier’s home in northeast Yorba Linda.

A neighbor, who declined to identify himself, described Wattier as “a nice boy from a normal, middle-class family.”

At the Straw home in Moreno Valley, still burdened with sadness, there was nevertheless relief and gratitude that a suspect had been captured.

“We feel very thankful to the media and the press for all they did for us,” said Eric Ackel, fiance of Wesley Straw’s mother, who declined to comment.

“I’m just glad this guy was arrested,” Ackel said. “It could have happened again . . . We’re very thankful to this couple. I wish we could find out who they were. . . . We’d really like to speak with them and tell them thank you for acting as quickly as they did.”

Correspondent Terry Spencer contributed to this report.