GALT, Calif. — Six months after Angel Renteria, 16, was seriously injured after being hit by a car while walking her dog in her Galt, authorities say DNA evidence has led them to arrest the suspect they say is responsible.
Renteria suffered serious injuries to her brain and body that have left her in a minimally conscious state, said Kelly Carr, the teen’s mother. Carr has been caring for her daughter day and night since the March 14 incident.
“She was left on the side of the road, and she was seconds from dying,” Carr said.
Her daughter’s life was saved, but it has been long road to recovery for the young woman. Renteria spent weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and five months in the hospital before returning home this August, where she is now confined to a bed.
The teen cannot speak, walk or feed herself. Carr quit her job as a mental health nurse to care for her daughter around the clock.
“She was a vibrant, healthy young lady and now she has been completely destroyed,” Carr said.
On Sunday, officers with the Galt Police Department say they arrested Devin Calderon, 29, in connection with the hit-and-run that seriously injured Renteria. The same suspect apparently ran into the back of a patrol vehicle in the minutes following the hit-and-run crash, according to Galt Police.
“While officers and fire personnel were still attending to Renteria, a white Dodge Ram pick-up truck, driving west on Ayers Lane, drove into the scene and collided with the back of a Galt PD K-9 patrol vehicle,” according to the Galt Police Department. “The driver of the Dodge was identified as Devin Calderon, 29, of Rancho Murieta.”
The 29-year-old displayed signs and symptoms of intoxication that evening and was arrested that evening under suspicion of DUI by the California Highway Patrol, due to the incident involving a patrol vehicle, the Galt Police Department said in a statement.
For months, law enforcement officials have sought to piece the case together through resident, business and witness interviews. Officials say it was extensive DNA work related to the case that helped connect the dots and find the suspect.
Calderon has already posted bail, according to Sacramento County Court records. However, Carr is pleading with authorities to consider revoking bail given the seriousness of the case. She says the suspect had months to turn herself in but never did.
“She should be confined to a cell like my daughter is confined to a bed, in a minimally conscious state,” Carr said.
Calderon is expected to appear in court for her arraignment in Department 62 of Sacramento County Superior Court on Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.
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