Escondido police vehicles
Escondido Police vehicles. (File photo courtesy EPD)

A 42-year-old hit-and-run suspect was arrested Wednesday in connection with a crash that killed a pedestrian last year in Escondido after a seven-month search, authorities said.

The crash occurred in the morning of Sept. 17 when the suspect, identified as Escondido resident Lair Marin Salas, fatally struck 58-year-old Miguel Leonides Garcia as he was walking to work at the intersection of Mission Ave. and Broadway, according to the Escondido Police Department.

“Investigators spent hundreds of hours investigating this crime,” Interim Chief of Police Ryan Banks said in a statement. “Through their expertise, attention to detail and analysis of the evidence, justice will be served for the victim’s family.”

Salas was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run.

It was unclear if the victim was struck in a marked crosswalk.