Eastern Municipal Water District Employee Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver

MORENO VALLEY, CA — An Eastern Municipal Water District employee who was on the job early Friday morning in Moreno Valley was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

The 52-year-old EMWD employee was working near the intersection of Cottonwood Avenue and Graham Street at about 3:20 a.m. when the collision occurred. The victim was not in a vehicle.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene and found the injured employee on the road, though the driver was nowhere in sight.

A short time later, a 2000 Acura that had hood damage consistent with the crash was spotted on Cactus Avenue, east of Frederick Street. Behind the wheel was 21-year-old Jose Andres Mateo Rodas of Moreno Valley. He was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and felony hit-and-run, according to the sheriff's department.

The victim was sent to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the agency said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Deputy Jason Slover of the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station at 951-486-6700 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at 951-776-1099.