Officers responded around 5 p.m. on November 26 to the 400 block of East Washington Avenue near Hickory Street, where Aiden was found critically injured in the roadway.
Escondido, CA. – Police have arrested 44-year-old Hector Balderas Amador in connection with the hit-and-run crash that killed 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz on East Washington Avenue last Wednesday.
Amador was taken into custody Saturday and booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of felony hit-and-run causing death. Police also recovered the vehicle believed to have been involved.
Officers responded around 5 p.m. on November 26 to the 400 block of East Washington Avenue near Hickory Street, where Aiden was found critically injured in the roadway. Witnesses told investigators he had stepped into the street to retrieve a soccer ball when he was struck. The driver fled immediately after the collision.
Aiden was transported to Rady Children's Hospital, where he died on Thanksgiving morning.
The investigation remains active.
Escondido experiences a notable number of traffic collisions, averaging around 670 crashes per year that result in injury or death. This translates to an annual average of approximately 978 traffic injuries and deaths. Within San Diego County, Escondido ranks third in the total number of deaths and injuries, following only the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista. Speeding is the most frequent primary crash factor, contributing to an average of 263 accidents annually in Escondido. Impaired driving is also a significant issue, with alcohol-related crashes causing an average of 102 fatalities and injuries per year, and drug-related incidents accounting for another 15. Vulnerable road users are disproportionately affected, with an average year seeing 43 pedestrian and 37 cyclist injuries or fatalities. The city's crash data, often compiled from sources like the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS) and UC Berkeley's Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS), indicates that while some hotspots are due to road features, most accidents stem from driver behaviors.
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