Man arrested in woman's hit-and-run death in New River
NEW RIVER, Ariz. - A driver accused of hitting and killing a woman who was jogging in New River before fleeing the scene has been arrested.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says 43-year-old Lisa Mancuso was jogging near 7th Avenue and Cloud at about 10 a.m. on Feb. 24 when she was hit by a pickup truck.
Mancuso was pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck involved in the crash was later found and investigators say it was registered to a law enforcement member.
MCSO says the suspect in the deadly collision, 20-year-old Jacob Moore, turned himself in to authorities on March 18. He was booked into jail and is accused of manslaughter and failure to stop at an accident scene.
"Our Vehicular Crimes Detectives have worked around the clock for the past few weeks to bring justice for the Mancuso family," MCSO Sheriff Russ Skinner said. "While I understand this is a difficult situation for everyone involved, I'm proud of our detectives and support personnel in processing the evidence to bring closure to this investigation. MCSO will remain committed to providing educational programs and enforcement services to address traffic safety throughout Maricopa County."
Jacob Moore
The sheriff's office says it has video evidence that the officer's son, Jacob, was behind the wheel and had been drinking all night, ending his night at a local cafe.
"He ordered a screwdriver with two shots of vodka. Drank that and ordered another one but according to the bartender she did not put the vodka in that one because she felt the defendant was impaired," the prosecutor said during the suspect's court appearance.
The sheriff says they’ll be looking at the businesses that served him while underage. He turns 21 soon.
"I can tell you we have a very good partnership with the liquor board and certainly we will work with the liquor board. I know those are the types of things that liquor control will definitely follow up on," Skinner said.
The attorney for the 20-year-old argued for a reduced bond, saying, "He has absolutely no criminal history, no felony, no misdemeanor, no prior arrests, no prior failures to appear.
The sheriff stands by the severity of Moore's consequences.
"That might be an opinion of somebody's. What we have is a tragic accident that occurred, that alcohol we know was involved, where lots of alcohol was involved and a person died as a result of that," Skinner said.
Moore's bail was set at $200,000. He's accused of manslaughter and hit-and-run death. If he posts bond, he'll be forced to wear an ankle monitor.