Suspect In Fatal Oakland Hit-And-Run Suspect Has Criminal History
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A 27-year-old Oakland man was the target of an intense manhunt early Monday after investigators identified him as the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a 6-year-old and the child's mother and then fled the scene.
Oakland police released a photo of Rasenoch Allen and advised him to turn himself in before authorities track him down and take him into custody.
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Officers were dispatch to 26th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard Saturday night to investigate a report of an auto-versus-pedestrian traffic collision. Upon arrival, officers discovered that a black Mercedes 2-door was traveling westbound on Foothill and slammed into three pedestrians who were crossing the street, in a marked crosswalk, at 26th Avenue.
Police said the mom, son and uncle were in the crosswalk going to the laundromat when the car ran them over and never stopped.
After the collision, the driver of the Mercedes fled the scene. The vehicle was later located abandoned in another area of Oakland.
Alma Garcia and her 6-year-old son Angel died of injuries suffered in the hit-and-run as they were on the way to the laundromat. The boy's 20-year-old uncle was critically injured.
The suspect in the brutal hit-and-run crash has a criminal history. Court documents show that in 2016, Allen faced a number of charges related to a murder case, including one count of murder and a special circumstance of felony murder in the course of a robbery.
He was not convicted of the more serious charges. Instead, He pleaded no contest to accessory after the tact and was sentenced to three years at Santa Rita Jail.
Jail officials tell KPIX they released him last year.
Eleanor Alderman -- the principal at the International Community School where the boy, Angel Garcia, was a student -- said this wasn't the first tragedy the family has faced. Two years ago, the family survived a house fire.
"He was the kindest, sweetest, most resilient child," said Alderman. "This family has been through multiple tragedies. Their home burned down."
The school showed KPIX 5 photo of Angel that was taken on a field trip just two days before the fatal hit and run collision. The family says his mother is 30-year-old Alma Garcia.
The only survivor, the boy's uncle Jeymi Garcia, is in critical condition. Oakland Unified says the uncle is a newcomer student at Fremont High School, located in East Oakland.
Neighbors were visiting a memorial that sprung up near the location of the crash to pay their respects. A lot of people are outraged by the senseless crime.
Neighbors say the stretch of Foothill were the fatalities occurred has been dangerous for years.
"They just keep going and going and going," said neighborhood resident Francine Harris. "It takes you 10, 15 minutes to get across the street right there because nobody will slow down."
Oakland police have increased the reward amount to $25,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect.