A 48-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed two pedestrians in Reedley on Tuesday, police said.

The Reedley Police Department said investigators arrested Omar Lopez Chavez in the early morning hours of Friday as the alleged driver involved in the collision on Manning Avenue at Haney Avenue that claimed the lives of Luis Martinez Araujo and Maria Juarez Mendez.

According to police, Chavez was arrested at the Cross Border Xpress bridge connecting the Tijuana International Airport to the United States after investigators obtained a warrant charging him with two counts of felony hit-and-run and two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Police said investigators remained in contact with Chavez’s family during the investigation and later received a telephone call from Chavez, who told them he was in Mexico and would surrender. Investigators met Chavez at the border crossing and took him into custody without incident.

With assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chavez was booked into the San Diego County Jail on the listed charges. Police said the case will be submitted to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for formal charges next week.

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