Dad of 7 is killed filling up gas tank on California freeway. ‘Heart is shattered’
UPDATE: An arrest has been made after a man was killed in a hit-and-run while filling up his car’s gas tank on the shoulder of a California freeway, authorities said.
Giovanni Ceja, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, was arrested by Bexar County deputies Aug. 14, the California Highway Patrol said in an Aug. 15 news release.
Ceja, a deputy with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department, was on the job when he was arrested, McClatchy News reported.
Ceja will be extradited to California on counts of “murder, manslaughter with gross intoxication, felony driving under the influence causing injury and felony hit and run,” according to CHP.
The original story is below.
A man was killed in a hit-and-run while filling up his car’s gas tank on the shoulder of a California freeway, authorities said.
Gilberto Sotelo, 38, of Lake Elsinore, was putting gas in his Chevrolet Silverado on the shoulder of the 215 Freeway in Riverside after he ran out of fuel in the early morning hours of Aug 7, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release, The Press Enterprise reported.
Sotelo’s wife brought him a can of gas when his truck, which “had a broken fuel gauge,” stopped on the way home from visiting his sister’s grave, CBS Los Angeles reported.
As he was filling his tank, the driver of a “Honda sport utility truck” struck both Sotelo and his truck before fleeing, the Press Enterprise reported.
Sotelo’s wife called 911 after he was hit, according to a GoFundMe set up for the family.
After paramedics arrived, Sotelo was pronounced dead on scene, Patch reported.
Sotelo was a father of seven, according to CBS Los Angeles.
“My heart is shattered,” Sotelo’s wife wrote on Facebook. “I still need you.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact CHP at 951-637-8000.
Riverside is about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Dad of 7 is killed filling up gas tank on California freeway. ‘Heart is shattered’."
