A Castroville man died early Saturday morning in a hit-and-run crash in Moss Landing.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said emergency officials responded to a head-on collision in the area of Highway 1 and Springfield Road in Moss Landing at 12:47am.
While the California Highway Patrol was investigating the incident, they learned that the occupants of one of the vehicles fled the scene on foot.
According to CHP, witnesses saw two males walking away from the scene. The CHP requested assistance in an attempt to locate the subjects. Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies responded and deployed a drone.
The drone’s forward looking infrared (FLIR) capabilities helped deputies to locate two subjects hiding near a pond in the area of Highway 1 and Struve Road. They worked with CHP officers to arrest the suspects.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Coroner Office identified him as 22-year-old Bryan Ortiz of Castroville.
The investigation into the crash, by the CHP, is ongoing.
