Man arrested on suspicion of DUI-related hit-and-run

With the help of citywide surveillance and license plate reader cameras, Fairfield police arrested a previously convicted DUI driver for hitting and killing a 53-year-old Fairfield man on a bicycle Tuesday night in Fairfield and who then fled the scene.

Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen, the Fairfield Police Department’s public information officer, said dispatchers received a 7 p.m. report about a collision between a vehicle and a bicyclist near the intersection of North Texas and Wisconsin streets.

Upon arrival, officers determined the bicyclist was dead and gave only his age and city of residence.

The Solano County Coroner late Wednesday afternoon declined to release the name of the victim because the next of kin had not yet been notified.

A witness, however, was able to provide a description of the vehicle, and investigators began searching the city’s surveillance camera system as the department’s Traffic Unit took over the investigation as the evening progressed.

“Ultimately, they were able to find the suspect vehicle” using the department’s license plate reader system, identifying it as a Nissan SUV and identifying the driver through surveillance camera footage from a local business, noted Jacobsen.

Obtaining search and arrest warrants for the suspect, investigators spotted the vehicle later in the evening at a residence. They seized the vehicle and arrested Nadhir Muftah Ghuzi, 31, of Fairfield.

He was booked into Solano County Jail at 12:38 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion first-degree murder; DUI causing bodily injury; having a blood-alcohol level greater than the legal limit of .08 percent; a probation violation for a previous DUI conviction; and hit-andrun causing death or injury, all felonies.

The investigation continues and “alcohol impairment is considered to be a factor,” added Jacobsen.

Ghuzi is expected to appear in Solano County Superior Court, possibly for jail arraignment, at 1:30 p.m. Friday, jail records show.