Rialto family calling for justice after father killed in hit-and-run; police seeking help locating suspect

A Rialto family is desperately seeking justice after their beloved patriarch was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle over the weekend. Police say they know exactly who the suspect driver is, they just can't find him. 

Police say that the incident happened at around 7 p.m. on Saturday, when Leopoldo Mondragon, 65, was riding his bike in the 2400 block of S. Riverside Avenue. They arrived to find him lying in the street after being hit from behind. Despite attempting life-saving tactics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"This was a shocking thing that occurred out of nowhere," said Mondragon's daughter, Ivonne. "We weren't expecting it. It's really difficult."

Family members say that Mondragon was a loving husband and father of six who was on his way home from work when the collision happened. They say he worked and lived in Rialto during the week so that he could provide for the rest of the family living in Orange County. 

"He was a great father and a mechanic. He loved cars," Ivonne said. "He was a very hardworking man."

As they grieve over the loss of Mondragon, they're hopeful that their calls for justice will force the driver to turn himself in. 

Investigators say that they already know who the driver is, and have identified him as 46-year-old San Bernardino resident Santos Lopez-Rosales.

After crashing into Mondragon, police say that Lopez-Rosales continued driving to Bloomington, where they eventually found his heavily damaged car. 

Three days later however, and he's nowhere to be found. 

"We're suffering and he needs to pay for what he did," Ivonne said. "We love and miss my father extremely, and we hope this guy turns himself in so we can have some sort of peace."

Anyone with information on Lopez-Rosales' whereabouts is urged to contact investigators at (909) 644-6025.