72-Year-Old Pleads Not Guilty in Hit-and-Run Case Involving Toddler

Updated at 6:25 p.m. Tuesday

A 72-year-old El Cajon man has pleaded not guilty to felony hit-and-run in connection with a Fletcher Parkway accident that severely injured a wandering 2-year-old.

Charles Herman Hurst, the defendant in the Aug. 25 incident, was arraigned Nov. 9—accused of being the driver of a 2007 Volkswagen Passat station wagon that hit the boy while crossing Fletcher Parkway near Trolley Court, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office, said a readiness conference for Hurst is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 2 in El Cajon Superior Court.

His preliminary hearing—where evidence will be presented to see if a trial is warranted—is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 18 in Dept. 11, she said.

Hurst—born April 19, 1939—could face a maximum sentence of three years in prison if convicted, Sierra said Tuesday.  She didn’t have details on his hometown or whether he has hired or been appointed a defense attorney.

But six weeks ago, La Mesa police said the Passat had been traced to an El Cajon address—but didn’t know whether he was the driver.

“Yes, we know about driver,” a relative of the boy said in early October. “Apparently it is an older man who states he didn’t know he hit someone. Police are not sure if he will be charged. I can say that [the] baby is doing better, no longer in [a medically induced] coma.”

On Nov. 7, police Sgt. Peter Andersson told Patch: “We do feel we have a case of having identified the driver in that hit-and-run case.  We did not make an arrest, but have forwarded the case to the DA’s Office for their review.”

Two days later, Hurst was arraigned in El Cajon.

The victim, who hasn’t been identified, was still in the hospital in early October, a relative said. The boy was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego after the accident.

A tip from an area Volkswagen dealer led police to the car, which was impounded at the University Avenue police station. VW parts department worker Jaime Estrada was honored at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting by officials including Police Chief Ed Aceves and a representative of state Sen. Joel Anderson's office.

“God bless our police,” Estrada said after receiving a City Hall resolution and Senate certificate.

The incident occurred a little before 8 p.m. in late August as the boy was crossing Fletcher Parkway, having wandered away from his apartment home in the Buckland Street area.

The driver never slowed as he left the crash scene, surveillance video showed. Police said the toddler suffered head and spinal injuries when he was struck.

The boy’s parents were home at the time of the crash, police said, but the toddler slipped out of the house without their knowledge.