Witness Follows, IDs Suspect in Hit-and-Run

A 17-year-old motorist was arrested Monday after he allegedly struck and seriously injured a bicyclist and drove away, only to have a witness follow him and identify him for police, officials said.

The Garden Grove driver, whose name was not released because of his age, was arrested and taken into custody at the Orange County Juvenile Hall in connection with a felony hit-and-run, police said.

The bicyclist, Antonio Ramiro, 19, of Westminster, suffered severe head injuries and broken bones, police said.

He was in serious condition Monday at UCI Medical Center, officials said.

The accident occurred at 1:25 a.m. Monday, investigators said. The driver was heading east on Westminster Boulevard near Bushard Street, police said, when he struck the bicyclist, who was pedaling westward along the curb.

The bicycle broke into three parts and Ramiro was thrown to the ground, police said.

The car then hit a fire hydrant, knocked down a tree and continued to skid before coming to rest in a shopping center parking lot.

The driver left the car briefly, but then returned to it and drove away, police said.

A witness followed the car to the driver’s Garden Grove neighborhood and later identified him and the car for police.