Man Sought in Fatal Accident Surrenders

The suspected hit-and-run driver sought in connection with the weekend death of a 5-year-old boy surrendered to authorities Monday night.

Reynaldo Chavez Manso, 21, is suspected of driving a 1983 Toyota Camry that struck the child Sunday and then with failing to stop. Police said Manso walked into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Station with his family about 10 p.m. Monday and was taken to the Van Nuys Jail, where he was being held on a $60,000 bond.

Manso is scheduled to be arraigned today on manslaughter charges in San Fernando Court.

Manso allegedly struck and killed Salvador Sanchez, who was walking across Van Nuys Boulevard with his 11-year-old brother after they had filled a bicycle tire with air at a gas station. The boys were in an unmarked crosswalk, but investigators have not determined blame for the accident since pedestrians are required to exercise caution when crossing intersections, police said.

But Manso’s alleged failure to stop has exposed him to a maximum state prison sentence of five years, according to Det. R.S. Uber of the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division.

After the accident, a witness followed the hit-and-run vehicle to a nearby house and confronted the driver, who told the witness not to tell anyone about the accident, Uber said. That witness gave authorities the license plate number of the car Manso allegedly was driving. Later, that witness and several others identified Manso in a photo lineup, police said.

Shortly after Manso’s arrest, police impounded the red Toyota, which had a damaged grill and is owned by Manso’s female companion, authorities said. Uber said Manso did not have a driver’s license.

Manso has refused to speak with detectives about the accident, Uber said.

Salvador is survived by nine brothers and sisters and his mother and father, who works as a gardener. The parents said all their children have been in foster care, except 4-year-old Heriberto Sanchez, who they said nearly choked to death on food and lapsed into a coma two years ago. Heriberto has been hospitalized ever since.

Salvador died on his father’s 40th birthday during a weekly scheduled visit. The parents said they were looking forward to the return next month of some of their children, but now say they doubt the children will ever rejoin them.

“Who’s to blame?” the father, Javier Sanchez, said. “Maybe us. . . . But [the driver] must pay for what he did. Even if I hit an animal, a dog, I would stop and check if it was OK.”