A 31-year-old man died early Friday morning in Maplewood after being struck in a hit-and-run crash on Maryland Avenue East, police say, and a suspect has now been identified.
A Maplewood PD spokesperson said officers were called around 4:30 a.m. after a newspaper delivery driver reported finding a man down in the roadway and seeing a van speed away.
Responders attempted lifesaving measures, but the victim, identified as 31-year-old Abdul Bakr Jafar, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The witness provided officers with a description and license plate of the van. Authorities learned the vehicle was registered to a Maplewood address, but the van wasn’t found there. A KOPS Alert was issued statewide as the search began.
Investigators also obtained surveillance video of the crash from a nearby home. Later that day, Maplewood police announced that 46-year-old Jose Ronald Hernandez-Pineda was arrested in Sleepy Eye. Officers found him with the van at the time of the arrest, authorities said.
Hernandez-Pineda was booked into the Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. Police said alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash.
