A man has been arrested following a hit-and-run incident that resulted in the injury of a driver in Cornville last week.
On July 30, at around 7:15 a.m., officers responded to reports of a vehicle crash at the intersection of State Route 89A and Cornville Road. They arrived to find a vehicle lying upside down with a woman trapped inside, according to Cottonwood Police Officer Eli Olofson.
The woman inside was identified as a 36-year-old Cornville woman. First responders helped the woman get out of the vehicle and transported her to Verde Valley Medical Center to treat unknown injuries. The woman was released from the hospital later that day.
After investigating the incident, police determined that the woman who had been in the rolled vehicle was turning north onto 89A from Cornville Road when another vehicle struck her silver SUV, causing it to roll several times before it came to a stop on its roof approximately 30 feet off of the side of the road.
The male suspect, who was reportedly driving a green Chevrolet Blazer, did not stop after hitting the silver SUV and instead continued driving down Cornville Road.
“Witnesses followed the suspect vehicle to South Aspaas Road in Cornville, where the suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot,” Olofson said.
Following an investigation, officers were able to locate and arrest the man allegedly responsible for the incident on Aug. 2, according to a statement from the Cottonwood Police Department.
Because the man involved abandoned his vehicle after the incident occurred, police were able to identify the SUV as being registered to 32-year-old Cottonwood transient, Lucas James Sanders.
“Officers were able to identify this suspect based on the vehicle that was involved and later abandoned in Cornville, being registered to Lucas Sanders. There was also witness testimony that assisted in confirming Lucas was responsible,” according to the statement.
Police have no leads as to why Sanders chose to flee the scene of the rollover and do not suspect drug or alcohol use at this time, Cottonwood Police Sgt. Chad Sinn said.
“He was not wanted and we have no evidence to support a specific suspicion on why he ran,” he said.
Sanders was booked into the Yavapai County Jail and charged for failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving death or physical injury, a Class 5 felony. He is currently on release conditions and assigned to pre-trial services.
