WATERBURY, Conn. — A seven-year-old is dead following a pedestrian hit and run in Waterbury.
Waterbury Police said residents played a key role in making sure Luis Loja was brought to justice. They chased him after he ran.
Luis Loja, 39 of Waterbury, was charged with Operation of Motor Vehicle under the Influence Alcohol/Drug, Manslaughter 2nd with a Motor Vehicle, Assault 2nd with a Motor Vehicle, Evade responsibility in Accident Resulting in Death, Operation of an Uninsured Motor Vehicle, Improper Use of Registration Plate, Operation of Motor Vehicle without a License, Operating an Unregistered Motor Vehicle, Failure to Drive in Proper Lane
Loja was held on a $750,000 bond pending arraignment in court.
Police said they were called at 9:33 p.m. to the area of 1037 Baldwin Street for a motor vehicle accident involving pedestrians.
Police said they found a white 2005 Chevrolet 2500 van had rear-ended a Honda CRV parked off to the right side of the northbound lane of Baldwin Street.
They said the impact pushed the Honda forward striking two people between it and a third parked vehicle. A third person hit by the Honda CRV was thrown to the sidewalk.
Police said the driver of the van, Loja, had left the area of foot, however, witnesses followed the driver down Glen Street and convinced him to return to the accident scene.
A 29-year-old woman and a seven-year-old girl that were hit by the Honda CRV were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital suffering from serious life threatening injuries. A 30-year-old man who thrown to the sidewalk obtained medical treatment on his own for non-life-threatening injuries.
The young girl, identified on Tuesday as Serenity Mia-Lee Perez, was pronounced deceased at 10:16 p.m. The girl's mother is in stable condition and remains hospitalized.
Waterbury resident Steven Thompson was watching the fireworks at about 9:30 July 5th, when all of a sudden, "Everybody was enjoying the fireworks and then we heard the smash." He said it sounded like a, "train wreck." The sounds was quickly overtaken by the heartbreaking sound of injured pedestrians. "I could hear the mother screaming," said Thompson.
Lt. David Silverio of the Waterbury Police Department said, "The van was a construction type van with ladder racks on it." He crashed it into parked cars at the cross section of Baldwin and Glen Street.
Thompson said, "I didn’t see the people anymore. I realized they were pinned between the cars." A 6 year old girl and her mother were sandwiched between two vehicles. The child died, while her 29 year old mother suffered serious injuries. A third man also suffered minor injuries.
After the impact the suspect ran and bystanders chased him. "Some witnesses in the area followed him and encouraged him to come back and that’s how the police were able to quickly locate and identify the driver," explained Lt. Silverio.
Police say Loja was drunk. "Tragic loss of life. This one happens to be drinking related," said Silverio. Loja is facing a slew of charges including manslaughter and assault with a motor vehicle.
