Tip Leads to Arrest in Bicyclist’s Death

Seven months ago, Alejandro Gonzalez was killed in the street, struck by a car and then run over by a van. Neither driver stopped, and police didn’t have any clues. That’s the way it is with hit-and-runs: Answers about the mysterious death lay unspoken, hidden in somebody’s conscience.

But three weeks ago, somebody said something. A tipster told Anaheim police that a friend had admitted hitting and killing a man--and that it might have been 57-year-old Gonzalez.

This week police arrested Jaime B. Beltran, 32. Police said Friday he is being held in the Anaheim City Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

Gonzalez, whose relatives said he didn’t like riding in cars and preferred his bicycle, was killed early on Oct. 5 as he pedaled to his maintenance job at the Anaheim Marriott hotel. Police said he was hit by Beltran’s teal Honda Civic on Orangewood Avenue near Harbor Boulevard. After the crash, witnesses watched in horror as a dark-colored van ran over Gonzalez as he lay in the street.

Gonzalez’s family learned of the arrest Friday. “We’re satisfied that they caught one of the guys. But we’re still dealing with it, the loss,” said Zoila Gonzalez, 23. “I just want him to pay for what he did. And the pain he caused.”

The arrest, she said, “has brought us some peace.”

Gonzalez, who had worked at the hotel for 13 years, was the father of five children and grandfather to eight. He had been married to his wife, Maria, for 31 years. The couple’s sons range from 8 to 28; the youngest has Down’s syndrome.

Until Beltran’s friend contacted investigators, “We had absolutely nothing other than a vehicle description. We had zero leads,” said Anaheim traffic investigator Rick Alexander. As of Friday evening, police hadn’t found Beltran’s car. They are still looking for the driver of the van.

Leaving the scene of a fatal accident can bring a maximum of five years in prison, and it would be a separate count from any possible manslaughter charge. Typically, proving a hit-and-run is difficult, because drivers often claim they didn’t know they had hit anybody.

Gonzalez was carried 30 yards on the windshield of the automobile.