A 64-year-old woman was struck and killed Tuesday evening at Ashby Avenue and Regent Street in Berkeley's Elmwood District. The driver fled, police said.
Callers reported the crash at 6:38 p.m. Berkeleyside reported that the driver of a silver Kia Soul hit the woman while heading west on Ashby, just outside Alta Bates hospital. Firefighters took her to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where she died.
A witness spotted the Kia a few blocks away and gave officers its license plate number, ABC7 News reported. Police entered the plate into the city's automated license plate reader system. At 9:02 p.m. it alerted that the car had entered Interstate 80 from Gilman Street. Officers stopped it heading toward San Rafael, just past the I-80/I-580 split.
Police arrested a 66-year-old Oakland man on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run, driving under the influence and other violations. He was held at Santa Rita Jail on $380,000 bail, with arraignment set for Friday, according to Berkeleyside. The district attorney had not filed charges as of Wednesday morning.
"We are grateful for the community's continued trust and support, and especially for the witness whose actions helped officers locate the driver," the department said. The coroner had not released the victim's name.