A now-former sheriff’s corporal was arrested in Texas on suspicion of a hit-and-run crash last week that killed a man refueling his vehicle along the 215 Freeway in Riverside, authorities said Tuesday.
In the early hours of Monday, Aug. 7, the driver of a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck was heading south along the freeway south of the 91 Freeway/60 Freeway interchange when the vehicle drifted into the right shoulder and struck the victim, who was putting gasoline into his disabled Chevrolet truck on the side of the road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Navarro. The victim was killed in the collision and the driver fled south down the freeway.
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The victim was identified as 38-year-old Gilberto Sotelo, a resident of Lake Elsinore. Sotelo’s wife and one of his kids were waiting nearby in a separate vehicle and saw the crash unfold, authorities said.
The suspect’s vehicle was located two days later at a repair facility in Riverside and was taken into evidence.
The suspect, identified as Giovanni Ceja, a 31-year-old resident of San Antonio, Texas, was visiting family in Riverside and had borrowed the vehicle from a family member, said Adelina Simpson, a spokesperson for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in San Antonio. Ceja is suspected of driving the truck to a bar on the night of Sunday, Aug. 6, and consuming multiple alcoholic beverages before getting behind the wheel to drive back to his family’s home.
Ceja was placed into custody after the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office learned of the active warrant for his arrest, Simpson said. He is currently waiting to be extradited to California on suspected charges of murder, manslaughter with gross intoxication, felony driving under the influence causing injury and felony hit-and-run.
Ceja had been employed with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as a corporal since 2018, Simpson said. He resigned on Monday in lieu of termination and was given a dishonorable discharge.
This is an active investigation and any witnesses who may have observed the crash should contact the California Highway Patrol, Accident Investigation Unit at 951-637-8000.
