Pasadena Police Arrest Driver Who Allegedly Mowed Down Arcadia Pedestrian, Then Drove Away

Police arrested a 51-year-old Pasadena man after they say he was linked to a hit-and-run in Arcadia Wednesday where an elderly woman was critically injured and remains in a hospital.

One media report reported a witness said that the car was travelling north on Baldwin Avenue when it hit the pedestrian. It then backed up and drove around the woman lying in the street and continued on Baldwin.

Pasadena Police Lt. Pete Hettema said the Arcadia Police Department communicated with the Pasadena police and tipped them to the hit-and-run suspect, whom they said was driving a Ford Explorer Sport Trac pickup truck that struck a pedestrian on S. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia and then left her.

Witnesses called police about the hit-and-run and provided information including the involved truck’s license plate number.

“Arcadia notified us they had a critical hit and run with a female in her 60s in critical condition in a hospital,” Hettema said. “Arcadia evidently had a plate number to check for the suspect’s vehicle. Our officers went out and located the vehicle on the street. They surveilled it for a while and waited until somebody got in it and drove away. They took him into custody after that.”

The arrest occurred at 10 p.m. last night, just minutes after the Arcadia crash.

Hettema identified the suspect as Alex Cerna, 51, a Pasadena resident. He was arrested for felony hit and run and is currently in custody.