ST. GEORGE, Utah, Dec. 13, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A suspect is in custody after a hit-and-run accident that killed a woman Saturday in St. George.
Arturo Morales Garcia, 36, was located and arrested at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, St. George Police Department spokeswoman Lona Trombley said in Facebook live video.
Garcia was booked into Washington County Jail on suspicion of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, driving on a suspended or revoked license, driving as an alcohol-restricted driver and driving without a court-ordered interlock device, according to jail records. He is also being held for immigration customs.
“Evidence and witness statements that were gathered helped investigators to determine the make and the model of the vehicle and that helped us to identify a possible suspect,” Trombley said. “Physical statements and those witness statements and interviews resulted in the arrest of Garcia.”
The arrest is in relation to the death of Bettina Abraham, 53, who was found deceased in the area of Biolife and Dairy Queen on Dixie Drive.
According to a police news release, the St. George Communication Center received a call at about 8 p.m. reporting the fatal hit-and-run incident.
Abraham was pushing a cart on the east side of Dixie Drive when she was hit by a vehicle, the release states. She died at the scene.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by friends of the family to assist with funeral expenses. The page says, in part: “Bettina ‘Tina’ Abraham was a mom of two beautiful daughters, a daughter, sister, grandma (mum), friend and a great neighbor to so many. Tina had a heart of gold and she was so generous towards others. She grew up in El Cajon, Ca. and had moved to St. George, Utah, in 2016 to be closer to family.
“Tina’s life was tragically taken by a hit-and-run driver in St. George on the evening of Dec. 9 as she walked home from the store on North Dixie Drive in St. George. Tina never made it home, she gained her wings on the side of the road. Sadly that person decided that it would be more important to save themselves than to call for help, leaving beloved Tina to perish and for bystanders to find her lifeless body later that evening, just two weeks before Christmas.”
