Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fayetteville man, 24, arrested in connection with fatal hit-and-run
FAYETTEVILLE — Police arrested Tristen Fernandez, 26, of 12085 Hyde Road in West Fork in connection with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, according to police.
Yessi Beatriz Rauda Paredes, 24, of Fayetteville was walking along the sidewalk near the intersection of West Wedington Drive and North Gold Club Drive on Wednesday afternoon when a dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox traveling west on Wedington jumped the curb and hit her, according to a police news release. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the preliminary arrest report.
Police found the SUV in the 3980 Wedington Drive shopping area with the passenger’s side tires flat, bent rims, damages on the front passenger side and hood and blood and makeup on the hood, according to the report and news release. The driver had fled.
Fernandez was arrested at 7:03 p.m. Wednesday at
West Patrick Street and
North Plum
Tree Drive, according to the report.
During his arrest, Fernandez said he believed he hit a deer and saw “brown fur flying everywhere,” according to the report.
An unidentified woman told police she picked up Fernandez and his passenger from where the SUV was found, according to the report.
Fernandez was in the Washington County Detention Center on a $980 bond. He also faces charges of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.